WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WJAR) — An empty mill in Rhode Island went up in flames and is now reduced to rubble as bricks lay in piles where the building once stood.

"I’m sure everybody is shocked that building has been there for a long time,” said Robert Hayes, who lives in the area.

The Woonsocket Fire Department said they got call around 1 a.m. Monday and saw flames shooting through the building.

Fire crews as far as West Warwick came in to help, spending hours spraying water from ladder trucks to get the flames under control.

"Initially, we were worried about all the exposures because of the heat that was coming off of it,” said Woonsocket Fire Chief Bob Cahill. "We concentrated on the main mill building once the wind shifted in our favor."

A real estate listing for the property noted the 220,000 square-foot building was built in 1902 and offers it up as a possible residential conversion or self-storage investment.

"I think they were cleaning it out. I'm not sure if they were going to make it into apartments out of it or not but they had a lot of dumpsters in there emptying it out,” Hayes said.

Cahill said the building used to be a chemical plant.

Despite green-colored smoke pouring out of the building, he said the Department of Environmental Management recently came through and cleared it out, and hazmat crews were here making sure it was safe for nearby residents.

"Fire marshal's and DEM have worked diligently to get the chemicals out of here, that company has since moved,” Cahill said.

Fire crews are expected to be around for quite a while working to get the area secured.

Cahill commended his team, and even the rain for the quick work in getting the fire under control.

"We always joke that there's no fire in the rain but apparently that's not true," Cahill said.

Cahill said they are waiting for the fire marshal to finish up his investigation. Once that’s complete, they'll start knocking down what's left of the building to try and get the roads back open.

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