Fire heavily damages downtown Pawcatuck building
Stonington — A building at 6 Mechanic St. in downtown Pawcatuck suffered heavy damage Saturday evening after a fire swept through the structure.
Sean O'Brien, owner of C.C. O'Brien's, the pub next door, said he saw what he thought was fog rolling in shortly before 5 p.m. When he went out to investigate, he saw the neighboring building was on fire and pulled a fire alarm.
"It got lit up, it was pretty scary," said Tracy Desantis, whose daughter works at the pub. She said they were evacuated because of worries that the fire could spread to C.C. O'Brien's, but wind kept the building safe.
"The buildings are so close together," she added.
Much of the interior of 6 Mechanic St. appeared to be burned, and holes were visible through the roof as firefighters worked to ventilate the blaze.
The building was built in 1870 and according to the town's records is owned by Douglas Hanson of Pawcatuck.
Residents in the area remember the building as being vacant for a while going back to 2002.
No further information was available Saturday evening.
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