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Flash fire hits Intel plant in Arizona

A fire broke out at an Intel chip fabrication facility in Chandler, Ariz., injuring seven people. Intel says there would be no impact on production.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
Brooke Crothers

A fire broke out today at an Intel chip plant in Arizona, injuring seven people. However, the chipmaker said it would have no impact on production.

Intel's Fab 32 located in Chandler, Ariz.
Intel's Fab 32 located in Chandler, Ariz. Intel

The fire was in a "support building" next to an Intel fabrication facility--referred to as a "fab," Intel spokesman Bill Calder said in a response to an e-mail query. Among the seven injuries, one was serious, Calder said.

Five people went to the hospital, and the others were treated and released, according to an update from Intel late this evening.

The support area contains solvents used as part of the manufacturing process, according to Intel.

"This was a fire in a support building off of Fab 22 which is under construction," Intel said. "Fab 32, which is adjacent to this, was evacuated as a precaution but there was no impact to production and employees went back in a short while later. An investigation into the cause is continuing," Intel said.

Fab 22 is being "retooled" to manufacture Intel's next-generation 22-nanometer chips.

The Chandler area has approximately 9,700 Intel employees, making it the second largest Intel site and the largest employer in Chandler, according to an Intel "Fact Sheet."

Intel announced earlier this year that it will invest more than $5 billion to build a new chip manufacturing facility at its site in Chandler. The new Arizona factory, Fab 42, will be one of the most advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world.