Community Risk

A Week Later, Ala. Mill Fire Officially Declared Out

March 20, 2013

The owner of the old Pepperell Mill in Opelika has his property back now that the fire department has declared the fire at the site officially out.

Source Opelika-Auburn News, Ala.

March 19--After nearly a week, the fire at the old Pepperell Mill in Opelika is now out.

According to Capt. Scott McBurney of the Opelika Fire Department, hot spots at the mill site were officially put out Monday and the property has been turned back over to Darryl Saucier, the owner.

"I think they (Saucier and contractor Roy Granger) are in the process of putting a fence up around the property so that nobody can come and get to the structure," McBurney said.

Investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and will be conducted through McBurney's office. McBurney said that as of Tuesday afternoon, there was no active investigation being conducted at the scene.

"We've done all we could at the site, so now we'll take a look at stuff we've collected and go from there," McBurney said. McBurney did not elaborate on what items the department had collected from the site.

Units from the OFD and other agencies had previously been containing the fire and putting out hot spots since first receiving a call the evening of March 13 that the mill was on fire. No injuries were reported.