Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Morning Mill Fire In Pawtucket
On Wednesday Morning at 08:27 hours Pawtucket Engine’s 2,1,5 Ladder 1 and the Chief responded to 354 Pine Street for reports of a building fire, As headquarters companies left the station a large column of smoke was visible and a second alarm was transmitted while still en route. On arrival companies had heavy fire from floor two of the two story vacant 100x400 brick mill building that used to be occupied by the general offices of ”Perry Blackburne inc” and also the ‘Standard Uniform Company” Companies dropped two lines and made an attempt at a quick interior attack but due to progression of fire and severe threat of collapse crews were evacuated and a defensive operation began. Heavy fire also was threatening a large mill building,exposure 3, And also starting a small exterior fire on the one story mill occupied by the “Providence Yarn Company” on Conant Street, fire also spread to an smaller attached portion of the original fire building on the Lily Pond Street side. At 08:30 Central Falls sent a full structural response to the fire. Three Ladder pipes and multiple master streams contained the fire to the building of origin. Multiple mutual aid companies responded to the general alarm fire from Attleboro, Central Falls, Cumberland, Providence, Lincoln. While Attleboro, Providence, East Providence, N.Providence and Johnston Filled in at empty city stations. One resident was arrested on scene after a small altercation with police. National Grid pulled the power to the area at one point in the fire leaving many traffic lights out in the area and triggering several box alarms also in the area including Box 254 Stretch Products at 392 Pine Street, and crews tagged multiple hydrants in the area one far away as Broad Street 4-5 blocks away from the fire ground, firefighters removed trees and other brush from the front to gain access for a ladder pipe and to ventilate .Companies remained on scene all day and into the night knocking down hot spots and picking up. Engine’s 7 and 8 remained on scene as the detail companies. This wasn’t the first fire to hit the Conant Industrial Park On December 12,2006 a small fire damaged a small section on floor four of the exposure building, and on July 11,1999 200 Conant Street a two story brick mill that had been the site of six previous fire’s was destroyed in a general alarm fire.