3-Alarm fire at vacant Seymour factory

Seymour, Conn. (WTNH) - A three-alarm fire broke out Saturday afternoon and engulfed a vacant factory near downtown Seymour. The large plume of smoke could be seen for miles.

Some of the photos submitted by viewers through News 8's Report It tool.

The fire began at the old Housatonic Wire building shortly before 4:30 p.m. at 109 River Road.

It didn't take long for those in the neighborhood to notice.

Kurt Kepshire works across the street. “Started off as white smoke. It proceeded to get larger and started catching on the trees and the other buildings”

It quickly escalated into a three-alarm blaze. The heat was so intense fire crews had to fight it from the outside.

“People from Oxford, Ansonia, Beacon Falls and Woodbridge covering and also at the scene,” Seymour Fire Commissioner Gene Atkas stated.

There were “about a hundred firefighters on scene.”

The scene remained active and large some three hours later with many crews still pouring water on hot spots.

“It's crazy for a little town like Seymour,” said John Devito. “We don't normally get this much action. That's why I came out to see it.”

Workers had been inside the building during the day doing what has been described as demolition work. They were not in the building at the time the fire began.

Fire marshals told News 8 they've already begun the long process to determine an exact cause of the blaze.

There were no reported injuries and no significant traffic problems.

The factory has been empty for several years.

No other structures were threatened.

This is the second large vacant building fire   in the state within a month. On August 28, an intense fire destroyed several buildings at the old Remington Arms complex on Bridgeport's east side.