Fire Erupts at Ideal Forging Site for Second Time in Two Months

One day after demolition began on the old Ideal Forging site, the former factory fell victim to a second fire in as many months as firefighters battled flames inside the complex Wednesday evening.

Firefighters were called to the site around 7:30 p.m. with reports of smoke in the area and arrived to find flames showing from inside buildings as well as from the roof of a 150 by 40 foot building located inside the complex.

“Fire crews found a large number of pallets and bundles of cardboard burning inside the building,” said Captain John Folcik in a press release. “They were able to contain the flames quickly and extinguish the fire in just under two hours.”

Firefighters said the fire “appeared suspicious” but would not comment further and directed questions to the Fire Marshal’s office on Thursday. The official cause was not released Wednesday evening.

Folcik said no one was injured in the response and fire officials remained on scene until almost 11:30 p.m. to deal with potential flare ups caused by excess heat from the cardboard and pallets.

The complex has been abandoned since the company went bankrupt in 2001 and on Tuesday, demolition began after New York-based developers Meridian Development held a special ceremony honoring former workers of the factory for their historical contributions in the community.

The site is slated to be the future site of Greenway Commons, a development designed to enhance revitalization efforts downtown through a mixed used complex that will include apartments and various shops.

Since it was abandoned a decade ago, the site has been prone to mischief, fire officials said, and in April the Southington Fire Department extinguished a fire that had erupted inside the elevator shaft of a different building within the complex.

“It’s an older, vacant building that we’ve had problems securing,” said Fire Capt. Alan Zygmunt following the fire on April 19.

It is unknown whether the fire will affect demolition efforts. Manafort Brothers Inc., of Plainville, had expected to complete demolition on two of the main buildings within 90 days. The fire occurred in buildings not yet scheduled for demolition.