WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Monday morning’s fire at a 122-year-old mill building was not the first time Woonsocket firefighters have been called to the property.

In 2017, a hazmat team was called after a small fire broke out inside the mill building. The R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) said the fire was caused by vandals, who also knocked over chemicals. 12 News footage from the time showed firefighters in hazmat suits being sprayed down after exiting the building.

City records indicate the vacant mill building had been the longtime home of CNC International, which is a chemical manufacturing facility. The building also previously housed Gerber, Hasbro and various textile manufacturers.

The property had been on the DEM’s radar for years prior to that fire.

In February 2018, the DEM issued a notice of intent to enforce due to “storage of universal waste and solid waste on site.”

A 2019 environmental assessment from Fuss & O’Neill said investigators found lead-based paint, asbestos and mercury in the building. Images from that year showed deteriorating conditions inside the building, plus storage drums with unknown substances, and stacks of chemicals.

( Story continues below images. )

The assessment also noted that scrap metal, wooden pallets, wooden boards, steel pipes, soil piles, trash piles, old furniture, glass windows, paint cans, hand tools and more were found in the building’s basement. An office space on the first floor also contained a boiler room that was in “poor condition” with moss and mold.

A 2021 assessment showed the cost to dispose of contaminated soil would likely “exceed $5.5 million” and that remediating the building of asbestos, lead-based paint and other materials would exceed $256,000 .

Woonsocket Fire Chief Bob Cahill told 12 News “most” of the chemicals had been cleared out of the building in recent years.

The property was sold to 20 Privilege Street, LLC in 2022. Target 12 reached out by phone to the owner and registered agent listed for the business but has not heard back.

DEM spokesperson Evan LaCross told Target 12 on Monday that the agency had been working with the current owner of the property and was performing a clean out of excess chemicals left behind by the prior owner of the property.

The last active production at the site involved “the manufacture of a surfactant for the automatic car washing industry,” according to Lacross.

“The products involved did not meet the definition of hazardous waste,” he added.

The agency notified the current and former owner in July 2022 about the removal of remaining hazardous materials to be in compliance with state rules and regulations. LaCross said the current owner continued to remove the waste at the property after the Aug. 2022 deadline noted in the letter.

He also noted that the owner used a contractor to remove “containers holding chemical wastes and products” prior to the fire.

“It is currently believed that any drums which may have remained in the building during the fire were non-hazardous waste and rainwater,” he added.

The building had also been put up for sale earlier this year for $2.75 million, but the listing was taken down sometime Monday.

Alexandra Leslie ( aleslie@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook .

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