During an afternoon news conference, Tukwila Fire Chief Jay Wittwer said the bodies of a man, woman and a young girl — who all lived in the same apartment — were found by firefighters. Authorities had originally said one of the victims was initially reported missing but crews discovered the victim’s body later in the day.
Crews are trying to figure out what started a fire at an abandoned mill in Killingly.
Dozens of firefighters fought the fire near Ballouville and Chesnut Hill roads in the Attawaugan section of town.
The former mill appeared to be burning, with smoke and flames rising from the structure, according to pictures from the Muddy Brook Fire Department.
Firefighters said the fire started sometime overnight. Crews were called to the mill around 1 a.m. Thursday. Several departments were called to help.
They said they were able to keep it from spreading to nearby houses.
Power crews cut electricity to the mill building while firefighters extinguished the fire.
We got woken up by our neighbors pounding on our door and when we looked in the back it looked like the sun in our backyard,” said Nicole Fornal, an eyewitness.
Fornal lives right across the street.
At first, she thought her own house was on fire. Once she realized it was the mill, she watched as it came crumbling down.
“At a couple of points during it there was explosions you could see the fire go ‘BOOF’ and the whole fire go up a couple of times,” Fornal said.
“Big scene like this we need all the help we could because it just got out of control,” said Lt. Paul LeBlanc with the Attawaugan Fire Department.
Crews from multiple agencies helped knock the fire down, and later, the building. Other firefighters put out hotspots throughout the day.
The road and power were shut down most of the day.
“It felt like a scene out of a movie it didn’t feel real,” Fornal said.
No one was hurt or inside when the fire started.
The mill has been empty for the last 20 years or so.
Town leaders said there were big plans for it.
“We had a lot of hopes for the building, we were starting to gain some interest on a developer level,” said Mary Calorio, Killingly Town Manager.
“I was just praying no one was hurt or anywhere near it,” said Pastor Frank Iafrate, an eyewitness.
The state fire marshal is trying to figure out what caused the fire.
Killingly’s town manager told Channel 3 that she was working with Killingly Public Schools superintendent Dr. Susan Nash-Ditzel to ensure that students in the area get to class on time.
