FARMINGTON – Nobody was injured when a fire broke out at the former Farmington Millworks on Fairbanks Road on Tuesday evening. A spark from a cutting torch set fire to a sawdust bin. Workers were trying to cut a metal silo from the brick building that is being demolished as developers Buzz Davis and Bill Marceau continue to make plans for the spot.
Firefighters had to close Route 4 on the north end of town around 4 p.m. to run hose to a hydrant.
Three engines, a ladder truck and 14 Farmington firefighters responded but were delayed in fighting the fire for 20 to 30 minutes because a chain attached to an excavator with which workers were trying to pull the silo from the building let go, according to Chief Terry Bell. Firefighters had to climb up on top of the building and reattach it.
Once the silo was removed and a hole was cut in the roof, flames shot up about 20 feet in the air, and black smoke started pouring from the bin, Bell said.
At 5:30 p.m., the fire was out and the road was still blocked. Bell said he expected to be at the scene for a couple more hours extinguishing hot spots.
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