HAMILTON, Ohio — Crews were seen knocking down the former paper company site at N. 5th and Dayton streets in Hamilton Wednesday night after a fire broke out at the now-vacant building.
Flames and black smoke could be seen pouring from all four stories of the building, which was previously an office for Beckett Paper and later Mohawk Paper.
"I was just getting off work and I saw a big cloud of smoke on the highway and I was like, what is that about? So I was driving around Hamilton and next thing I know when I'm pulling my driveway, it's literally like in my backyard," said Hamilton resident Michael Barrett.
RELATED |Photos capture battle against major fire at former paper company building in Hamilton
City officials said the first call of a fire came in around 4:30 pm, within minutes the entire building was engulfed in flames.
“And within five minutes there was heavy dark smoke and fire was coming out of all four sides within 10 minutes. So the building was heavily engulfed, very quickly," City Manager Craig Bucheit said.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, officials said they do not know the cause of the fire yet, but are looking into possible criminal involvement. Bucheit said the building was vacant and had no utilities. A Hamilton city spokesperson said Thursday that, because of this, the fire is being investigated as suspicious for the time being, but officials won't know the real cause until everything is cleared.
Our previous reporting on the building shows city leaders announced in May 2022 a $50 million development that will bring a new purpose to the building.
City officials told WCPO this building was not officially part of the development and would have probably been knocked down eventually. It is unsure how much it will change development plans.
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Hamilton Public Safety Director Scott Scrimizzi said the train tracks passing by the building were shut down until the building comes down, whether by itself or with a demolition company. Our crew on the scene saw several trains pass through on the tracks around 8:30 p.m.
Scrimizzi said that the city will have an emergency demolition crew coming and they hope to have it down in the next 12 hours.
Residents and city officials said they are saddened by the total loss of the former paper company building, calling it a city landmark.
“It's kind of sad honestly, because like more and more of Hamilton's history is going away slowly and slowly," Barrett said.
“It’s been a namesake to this town for centuries, and employed thousands and thousands of our residents. It helped make Hamilton what it became," said council member Michael Ryan.
