TURNERS FALLS — A fire at the old Railroad Salvage building Saturday has been labeled suspicious by local officials.
The former 19th-century mill between the Connecticut River and the power canal caught fire early Saturday morning, drawing several area fire departments to battle raging flames for hours.
“We’re ruling it as suspicious,” Fire Chief John Zellmann said on Tuesday.
Zellmann and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey are asking anyone with information to call a confidential arson hotline, 1-800-682-9229.
Power Street is still closed because the building is not structurally sound, according to Zellmann. Officials are asking the public to stay away from the area in case of collapse.
According to Montague tax records, the building is currently owned by Solutions Consulting Group LLC of Chicopee.
Montague Board of Selectmen’s Chairman Richard Kuklewicz said this weekend that given the significant damage caused by the fire, the board will be in contact with the owner to make sure the building is made safe as quickly as possible. Kuklewicz said the incident has moved the process of securing and removing the building “even more to the forefront.”
The building, in the Patch section of the village, has been unused and falling into decay for at least two decades.
The call came in at 1:38 a.m. from an employee of Cabot Station in Montague City who saw the fire on a security camera across the street from the long vacant and partially collapsed mill building and former department store near the heart of downtown.
Reach Miranda Davis at:
413-772-0261 ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com