No alarms, sprinklers triggered in Westerly mill fire

WESTERLY, R.I. (WPRI) -- Emergency crews were again called to a Westerly Mill Complex with a history of misfortune.

Numerous fire departments were called to Bradford Printing & Finishing after flames broke out at about 7:45 a.m. Monday.

According to the fire chief, several people were inside the building at the time, but were able to get out of the building safely.

Although, it was noted that no alarms or sprinklers went off during the fire.

"That's an issue remaining today for this building," said State Fire Marshal John Chartier. "For instance, the alarm did not come in this building because the sprinkler system does not work. So that's an issue for the chief, it puts firefighters at risk."

Crews prepared several ambulances for decontamination purposes. They tell us a 1,500-gallon hydrogen peroxide tank was discovered in a different section of the building as firefighters knocked down the fire.

The same mill complex was heavily damaged in a 2007 fire.

The complex was again forced to close its doors after taking major damage during the historic floods of 2010. It reopened in July of 2011, but was again shut down until October due to lack of funding in repairing the $4 million worth of damage.

In February of this year, the EPA came down on Bradford Dye for failing to comply with federal hazardous waste management regulations.

Employees at nearby businesses tell Eyewitness News that due to financial issues, Bradford has been shut down for about a month and their workforce has not been paid.

The chief tells us that the building will not be able to reopen until the sprinkler and alarm systems are back up and running. Also, the roof was not fully repaired following the 2007 fire, and it's become even worse following this latest fire.