Town Could Buy Mill Fire Site

The Maple Avenue building that  earlier this month could become town property. The Board of Selectmen met about the value and a potential purchase of the site during a Wednesday night executive session, which is not open to the public.

Also on the agenda for the executive session was "litigation strategy regarding potential litigation concerning public safety issues related to the recent mill fire."

The fire sparked at the former dye factory on May 1 at approximately 4:30 a.m. It took nearly two days and the assistance of several nearby fire departments to put out the blaze, which destroyed the two-story building. Nobody was injured or killed in the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials say it was manmade.

ROC Realty Corp. owns the 7.2-acre property. The 105,000-square-foot building was condemned in 2009 after snow and ice caused a portion of the roof to collapse. However, intruders, including children and teens, have frequently visited the building.

An active high-pressure gas main , causing a temporary stop of the effort in a portion of the building. The rupture came as a surprise to town officials since gas service was supposed to have been eliminated when the property was condemned. .

The value of the property was $303,500 prior to the fire, according to the Seekonk Board of Assessors' website .