WATERBURY — Waterbury firefighters remained on the scene Sunday morning after a large fire ripped through an abandoned factory.
The call came in around 8:45 p.m. Saturday night, and by Sunday morning flames were still showing from the building. Flames reached approximately 100 feet at the height of the fire according to Deputy Chief Rick Hart. The factory was built in 1900, and the city took over it back in 2015.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, the abandon factory was complete engulfed in flames. Crews encountered several challenges, including the size of the building which was around 400×300 feet, along with a strong wind from the south, and making sure the fire didn’t spread to nearby structures. They did have to evacuate one nearby residential structure.
Deputy Chief Rick Hart says they expect the fire to smolder for days until machines can pull apart collapsed debris, and put water on the hot spots. Right now they are focusing on darkening any hotspots and flames that they can.
The cause of fire remains unknown. Due to the heat and building instability it will take a while for the fire marshal to get inside and determine the cause and location of the fire. State Police also can not bring in dogs to help investigate due to the heat.
A police officer initially called in the fire. As of now the small flames can be seen from the rubble.
