Fire broke out at Rivian Normal Illinois plant

A fire broke out at Rivian Normal, Illinois electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant and an early report revealed that the facility had not been damaged.

Normal Fire Department (NPD) spokesman Matt Swaney told 25newsnow that the fire originated in the parking lot and did not reach the assembly line.

Swaney said the first responders were informed about this incident before 9:45 p.m. on Saturday. Meanwhile, some people have reportedly stated that the early fire started around 9:50 p.m.

However, the fire grew through the parking lot for shipment-ready vehicles. There’s no confirmation of how many vehicles have been damaged so far.

The fire department crew was on the site and contained the fire but the cause is under investigation. Fortunately, no injuries are reported at the moment.

Expansion Plan

This plant is used for EV manufacturing including the R1S electric SUV, R1T pickup truck, electric delivery van, and the upcoming R2.

A report recently revealed that Rivian has received permission for a plant expansion. The expansion will target production improvements for the R2 mid-size SUV and more parking space. In May, the EV maker received $827 in incentives from the State of Illinois Department and Economics Opportunity for this task.

Rivian wants to add 208,000 square feet to the southwest part of 100 Rivian motorway. There will be two new parking areas with more than 2,500 places and new signage. One of these will be used to park new R2 vehicles.

The expansion process will start this month and is expected to be completed in the next 14-18 months. However, the latest fire incident may have some changes in the deadline or the entire plan.