SHAUN SUTNER
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

ORANGE - Eighty firefighters from 17 communities, including Brattleboro, Vt., battled a blaze that destroyed a more than century-old downtown mill building yesterday afternoon.

The four-alarm fire started about 3:10 p.m. when smoke in the roofof the two-story brick warehouse was reported to the Orange Fire Department, said Town Administrator Rick Kwiatkowski.

Flames could be seen shooting out of the building. Firefighters had the blaze under control by about 6 p.m.

The cause of the fire was not known last night, and the state firemarshal's office is investigating, Mr. Kwiatkowski said. Nothing, including arson, has been ruled out, he said.

"If the Orange Fire Department wasn't able to knock down the fire it could have easily jumped to other buildings in the area," Mr. Kwiatkowski said. "The building is a total loss."

Located at 18 Chase Court, the building is the former Chase Machine company plant. It is owned by the Holbek Group, a small company that manufactures educational displays, Mr. Kwiatkowski said.

No one was in the building when the fire broke out.

One firefighter was injured when an ax handle knocked out two of his teeth, Mr. Kwiatkowski said.

Lee Chauvette, a former deputy fire chief in Athol, was at the fire scene and said the blaze could have been much worse.

"The area where the fire was is a very tight spaced manufacturing complex," Mr. Chauvette said. "The fire departments on scene did a great job protecting the surrounding buildings."

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Copyright 2010 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
September 26, 2010

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