EAST LYME, Conn. --
Investigators were called to an abandoned warehouse that burned in a fire Friday morning in East Lyme.
State police said firefighters were called to the abandoned warehouse on Mostowy Road at about 7 a.m., but said the fire could have been burning for hours before their arrival. They said just before 5 a.m., people in Waterford, miles away from the warehouse, and East Lyme reported smelling smoke. Firefighters searched for the blaze but didn't find anything until someone called and reported that the old warehouse in a rural section of town was smoking.
They said the warehouse was once the JCPenney warehouse.
Members of the State Police Arson Squad and the ATF were called to investigate what caused the fire. A K-9 was also used to track if anyone had been in the area of the warehouse recently. Police said that state and local fire investigators were waiting Friday evening for a search warrant to be signed before they could begin searching for the cause of the fire.
According to local fire officials, the old steel warehouse building hadn't been used for 20 years and the electricity had been shut off.
"We don't know how long it had been burning, but given the fact there were multiple bales of hay inside, it was a very smokey fire," said Richard Morris, the East Lyme fire marshal.
The building has been deemed a total loss, according to state police.
Anyone with information regarding the fire is urged to contact state police by dialing
860-848-6500.
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