Cleanup begins following massive fire

SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) -- A Southington factory that is over a century old was seriously damaged in a devastating fire.

Cleanup began at Rex Forge early Wednesday morning.

• Photos: Rex Forge factory fire

"Well, basically, it'll be monitored. I mean, we're talking a couple of weeks," said Donnell Thigpen from the DEEP.

DEEP officials were among the many still present at the 145-year-old facility, where it's believed a breached oil pump hose sparked an inferno on Tuesday.  

There were no serious injuries, but about a thousand gallons of mineral oil streamed into the nearby Quinnipiac River, upstream from Long Island Sound.

"Basically it's mineral oil," Thigpen said. "It's light, so no concerns. I mean, as long as we have good weather there's no concerns. It burns off, so, we've had no fish kills so far."

The fire department was close by on Wednesday, even though it had been many hours since any hotspots flared up overnight.

"We understand there's still some hotspots, and as they're removing the building, some embers could fall in to the oil that hasn't been picked up yet, and we're just on standby in case it reignites," explained firefighter John Folcik.

Rex Forge president Ron Fontanella says that with any luck, CL&P would be able to restore power and at least some of the plant could be back up and running by end of business Wednesday.