A three-alarm fire tore through a carpeting factory in Torrington on Sunday night and investigators are trying to determine what started it.
The water flow alarm went off at the Alliance Carpet factory, at 180 Church Street around 8:20 p.m. on Sunday and neighbors reported a strange chemical smell, in addition to the smoke.
Firefighters who responded to the scene saw smoke coming from the building and activated a third alarm because of the size of the building.
About six employees in the building at the time got themselves out and no one was injured, according to Torrington Fire Chief Gary Brunoli.
Crews brought large bails of foam outside to extinguish them.
This was not the first time the building has caught fire. There have been several fires there in the past.
Some have been cases of arson, officials said, but most of the fires there have been accidental and all signs point to that being the cause again last night.
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When the company grinds foam rubber used to make its carpets, it's easy to start a fire in the process, officials said.
"We’ve been here many times, not only for alarms but for some fires. The processes that they use in here it happens," Brunoli said. "The guys are familiar with the building and with the amount of smoke and the size of the building and the staffing we have we wanted to make sure we had enough resources in case we had to go into defensive mode."
Even though it was expected to be business as usual on Monday morning, the investigation into what happened is still ongoing.
Firrefighters from Torrington, Harwinton, Winsted, Watertown, Waterbury, Torringford, Drakeville, Burrivills, Bantam and Washington responded and the Red Cross also came to the scene to provide food.
