Mill fire remains under investigation

March 1, 2011

An initial day of investigation ended without a cause being determined for the fire that heavily damaged the Seville Dye plant at 229 Fairmount St. Sunday.
“It’s still under investigation,” Deputy Fire Chief John Danis said after state and local fire investigators conducted an initial tour of the mill. Members of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives were also participating in the investigation, Danis said.
The fire is believed to have begun in first floor office of the vacant dye plant at First Avenue and Fairmount Street, Danis said. The amount of fire and smoke coming from the building upon the arrival of firefighters at about 12:45 p.m. led investigators to consider the cause suspicious, according to Danis. “There was no electricity, no source of heat in the building,” Danis said. The mill had also been under a demolition order from the city issued in the aftermath of a snowstorm that collapsed an adjoining metal work shed, he noted.
The heavy smoke generated by the fire prompted fire officials to evacuate homes in First Avenue area for a period about six hours, Danis noted. The residents were allowed to return to their homes after the fire was extinguished and checks for air quality completed in the dwellings, he said.