Chief Calls Seekonk Fire 'Suspicious'

Firefighters from Seekonk and neighboring areas were continuing to fight a blaze late Tuesday morning at an abandoned Ten Mile River-bordering mill on Maple Avenue, not far from the Attleboro border. The Seekonk department received the call at approximately 4:29 a.m., Chief Alan Jack told Attleboro-Seekonk Patch. 

The fire was "under control, but not out" by about 7 a.m., Jack said. 

"We're going to be here all day," he said.

Jack added, "The problem here is it's a very, very large building that had been added on throughout the years. It's inaccessible because the rear side borders the river. Also, this is a building that years ago had been condemned."

Jack called the fire "suspicious" because the building was condemned three years ago after snow and ice caused a portion of the roof to cave in. The structure contains no utilities. He said police have had a hard time keeping people out of the building.

By mid-morning, a hard rain was pouring down on the site. 

"The rain is not helping, it's hindering because it's keeping the smoke down," Jack said.

The fire consumed the entire building, Jack said. Nobody was allowed to go inside because "we knew the situation of the building," he said.

"Our main concern was to get water on the building to contain it and protect the nearby structures," Jack said.

No nearby structure was damaged and nobody was injured, as of 11 a.m. Jack said that firefighters' carbon monoxide levels were being checked. Two men had to be sidelined briefly, but they were treated and able to return to the scene.

Jack said early in the morning, "There were a number of explosions, a lot of propane. I'm not sure what else is in the building. So it was pretty exciting between 5 and 6 this morning. It was very noisy and pretty spectacular."

There is concern about potential environmental damage the fire may have caused. Federal and state environmental officials were on the scene. Water and air samples were collected for testing, Jack said.

Firefighters from Attleboro, Pawtucket and East Providence are assisting with the effort. State fire and police officials, the Coast Guard and the ATF are also assisting with the work, including the investigation of the cause.