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    Local News
    Sunday, May 05, 2024

    Small fire extinguished in Norwich mill building

    Norwich — Firefighters responded to a fire on the second floor of an abandoned mill building on Franklin Street, putting into practice a protocol the department has practiced in case of a fire in the massive 216,000-square-foot complex.

    A caller reported smoke coming out of the building at about 2 p.m. Sunday, according to a Norwich Fire Department news release. Fire companies searched the building for the fire and found it on the second floor, extinguishing it before it spread past the room where it started.

    The Mohegan Tribal Fire Department (F.A.S.T) Firefighter Assist and Search Team and members of the volunteer Taftville, Yantic, Occum, East Great Plain, and Laurel Hill Fire Departments all responded.

    The fire is under investigation by the Norwich Fire Marshal’s office and the Norwich Police Department.

    The Norwich Fire Department occasionally runs drills preparing for fires in the abandoned mill because of its size and the danger it would pose to nearby residents if a fire got out of hand.

    A plaque on the side of the mill building commemorates a fire that destroyed the Hopkins & Allen gun factory, which stood there until it burned down in February 1900. 

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