TAUNTON, Mass. --
A five-alarm fire at Taunton City Hall on Tuesday morning is suspicious, Mayor Charles Crowley told NewsCenter 5. A man with an ongoing feud with the city was in the building around the time the fire broke out, city hall sources told NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper.
The fire started at the 15 Summer St. building Tuesday morning in an area of the attic used for paper storage, and quickly grew to five alarms. At one point, flames could be seen coming through the roof of the stone building.
Mayor Charles Crowley called the fire suspicious.
"There's some ongoing issues relative to the people who were present in the building," he said.
City Hall sources told NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper that Michael O'Donnell, the landlord of the building next door, was in City Hall on Tuesday morning. He left the building after "helping put out" the fire and breathing in smoke, sources said.
City Hall sources said O'Donnell has been fighting with the city for years about the safety of his building. Both sides were scheduled to be in court on Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators confirmed that they would be talking to O'Donnell as part of the fire investigation, NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported.
At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Gwen Borden was working in the Engineering Department when she saw an orange glow in the hallway.
"The flames were right next to the stairway, and so I went down the other stairway and I kept yelling 'Fire!'" she said.
She made it out safely, as did the other dozen or so people inside at the time, including the mayor.
The fire quickly escalated to five alarms, and the hot weather complicated the battle with several firefighters having to be treated on scene for heat-related issues.
It's too soon to determine the extent of damage, but the attic is used for records storage.
Crowley said he has several contingency plans for City Hall business.
"There's some alternative locations. We've got some school buildings that are abandoned, and we've got some vacant storefronts nearby that we'll look at as temporary quarters to operate if need be," Crowley said.
No injuries were reported.
The building was originally built in 1848.
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