A VACANT PAPER MILL BUILDING IN LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, was gutted by a massive fire Friday night. The 3-alarm fire was first spotted at the former Merrimack Paper Co. mill shortly after 7 pm. The building had already been condemned, but was being mildly secured and checked by a watchman. It required a little over three hours to bring the fire under control, but not before it spread to a second building.
Eagle-Tribune / Carl Russo
The fire building was just one in the large, vacant complex and was lastly the shipping and receiving building. The 200,000 sq. ft. structure was built 140 years ago.
WHDH-TV has a video report from the fire scene:
The Eagle-Tribune tells:
Firefighters have been worrying about a possible fire at the site for several years.
In 2007, city officials said more than $142,000 was owed by the building’s owners for fire watches from the periods of December 2005 through November 2006 and January through May 2007. The city placed a lien on the property and was involved in discussions to collect the money.
City officials said the fire watches became necessary when the sprinkler system wasn’t operating.
Merrimac Paper, which traced its roots in Lawrence back to 1866, closed for good on June 29, 2005, putting 75 employees out of work. The closure came just two years after the company had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Merrimac manufactured paper products ranging from colored office folders to specialty pages used in books. It was purchased by Holyoke Card Co. in 2000.
Read the full story on the fire in the Eagle-Tribune HERE.
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