Norwich — A mysterious but not suspicious fire in a narrow crawl-space attic Saturday has displaced the Norwich Community Development Corp. at the new Foundry 66 shared workspace facility at 66 Franklin St. — one day after a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated its grand opening.

No one was injured in the 1:45 p.m. fire, but the new shared workspace facility could be shut down for up to three weeks as holes in the roof and damage to the newly upgraded electrical system are repaired and extensive water damage cleaned up, Norwich Fire Chief Kenneth Scandariato said.

The three-alarm fire started in a small attic area above the second-floor ceiling and below the roof in the two-story section, Fire Marshal Lauren Casady said. While he ruled out the possibility of a suspicious cause, Casady said the cause of the fire remained a mystery Saturday evening.

NCDC President Robert Mills said the area where the fire started was not being worked on, although some work still is being done in the newly renovated building that once housed the Norwich Bulletin.

“The sprinklers went off, and they did what they were supposed to do,” Mills said, “so we were lucky there. The fire department got in quickly, and it took them a few minutes to get to it, but they were able to get to it and put it out."

Scandariato said Norwich Fire Department crews responded to the first alarm, and volunteer crews from East Great Plain and Laurel Hill assisted on the roof. Crews from the volunteer Yantic Fire Engine Co. worked inside on the salvage plan.

Crews cut holes in the roof to vent the smoke out of the building, while firefighters on the second floor pulled down ceiling tiles to attack the fire above. All three city ladder trucks were employed, Scandariato said.

Mills and NCDC Marketing Director Miria Toth thanked the fire department for working to protect the new furniture and equipment in the main office area. One office rented by Yoga-Thai Massage, Balance, Growth Being LLC, owned by John Benbow, received heavy water damage, with water from the second-floor sprinklers still raining down into the office by late evening.

The first floor on the left portion that housed the Thai-massage office and a facility conference room was soaked with 3-4 inches of water, leaving newly installed carpets soggy.

By late evening, the sprinkler system was functioning, but electricity remained shut off in the building.

Mills said NCDC, which moved its headquarters into Foundry 66 on Oct. 3, will be forced to operate remotely until the building is cleaned, dried out and repaired.

"We've been between two buildings for three weeks now," Mills said, referring to the former location just vacated at 77 Main St.

Mills said he already has received two offers for temporary space from the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce and from Eastern Federal Bank, both on Main Street.

Mills and Toth will work through cellphones and backup gmail email accounts until the new Foundry 66 server can be restarted. Mills can be reached at (860) 514-4278 or Millsncdc@gmail.com, and Toth at (860) 984-5523 or tothncdc@gmail.com.

c.bessette@theday.com