PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) – An abandoned mill that collapsed in flames Friday once housed a clothes-weaving operation that was shut down in 1998 when demand for its product dwindled.

Woodhall Weaving Mills, which was owned by Greenhalgh Mills, produced acetate, a silky fabric that is used in linings for coats and dresses.

Maria Papa, a former supervisor who worked at the mill for 16 years, said she watched television in disbelief Friday as the fire destroyed the mill on Cottage Street.

“I think it’s terrible. It’s very sad to see a company that was in business for so many years go out of business,” said Papa, who supervised the cloth room rolling and drying department.

She was laid off with 45 other workers when the mill closed.

“It’s like a tragic ending to the textile industry in Rhode Island,” she said.

A developer had plans to put a shopping complex in the area, complete with a Stop & Shop supermarket, and possibly a dry cleaner and video store, David Monti, a spokesman for developer Churchill & Banks, told Boston’s WHDH television on Friday.

He would not comment on whether the fire had changed those plans.

“Right now, we want to make sure everyone’s safe, that there are no injuries, that the fire was put out,” Monti said.

At least five people were treated for minor injuries Friday night.

In 1993, Greenhalgh Mills received a 10-year tax break from the city in return for a commitment to keep 120 workers and buy new, state-of-art looms.

Greenhalgh Mills invested in new equipment, spending $2 million in 48 high-speed looms in 1993, and another million a year later. In 1996, when Greenhalgh Mills ceased operations in Rhode Island, Woodhall Weaving acquiring the high-speed looms and put them to use, according to The Associated Press archives.

But the company’s sales went into a slump, and the Asian economic crisis was the final factor in making the decision to close the plant.