A massive, multiple-alarm fire at a historic mill in Woonsocket forced evacuations and left hundreds without power, officials said late Tuesday.
Firefighters from up to 15 departments in Rhode Island and Massachusetts were called to a blaze at the former Alice Mills Rubber Manufacturing Plant in Woonsocket at about 7:30 p.m.
Alice Mills is just miles from the Massachusetts state line and was once considered the largest rubber goods factory in the world.
"I think it's the biggest fire we've seen in Woonsocket," one witness said. "Been here all my life. Quite a thing."
The fire quickly rose to eight alarms. Television images of the fire showed the entire roof of the four-story building had collapsed into the 217,000 square-foot structure on Fairmount Street.
"The structure is actually helping us by collapsing inside itself," Fire Chief Gary Lataille told NBC 10 News.
Witness said they heard some explosions in the fire. Lataille said they may have been from old chemicals.
One firefighter was injured and taken to a hospital. No other details were released and no other injuries have been reported. It was not immediately known if anyone was inside the building when the fire started.
Woonsocket police told The Associated Press that residents of about 10 houses on two streets surrounding the mill were evacuated.
At its peak, Alice Mills employed 2,000, and during World War II manufactured barrage balloons and rubber attack boats. The mill was later the home to plastic manufacturer Tech Industries, later known as Portola Tech, which left the building in 2009. A wood pellet manufacturer bought the mill but had not yet moved in, according to The Valley Breeze. The mill was built in 1889.
Smoke from the fire could be seen 14 miles away in Lincoln and was being carried by the light wind into parts of Massachusetts.
Authorities said all of Woonsocket's 125 firefighters were on the scene, along with the city's police department. Nearby fire departments in Rhode Island and Massachusetts also sent firefighters.
Investigators said it was too soon to speculate on a cause.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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