Fire destroys historic Hopkinton mill

HOPKINTON, R.I. (WPRI) - A state fire marshal is still working to determine what caused a large fire at a factory in the Ashaway section of Hopkinton late Sunday night.

Two firefighters were injured fighting the blaze. One of them suffered from hypothermia after becoming wet from a fire hose. Right now, both firefighters are in good condition.

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Authorities say it took roughly 20 minutes for fire to tear through the historic 15,000 square foot building.

"You could actually just watch it go the length of the building. You got almost a 200-year-old building, oil soaked floors, who knows what else," said Fire Chief Michael Williams.

After three minutes inside the structure, crews realized it was a lost cause and focused their energy on trying to save the newer part of the complex where a landscape company just moved into.

"They were actually the ones who called the fire in," Williams said.

Fire crews from several Rhode Island and Connecticut towns were called in to fight the multi-alarm blaze. The lack of a municipal water supply caused firefighters to use nearly 18 different tanker trucks, making a chain of water from the Pawcatuck River to the fire.

A cause is yet to be determined. The injured firefighters are expected to be okay.