The hulking shell of the 600,000-square-foot Loray Mill caught fire in west Gastonia Sunday night, damaging the historic building but leaving it standing.
The fire began at the century-old mill just before 8:30 p.m. Flames were under control within about an hour but firefighters remained there early this morning. No one was injured.
The fire appeared to have started on the fourth floor from an accidental electrical problem, Gastonia Battalion Chief Kerr Foy said. The sprinkler system activated before firefighters arrived, preventing the blaze from spreading through the oil-soaked wooden floors, he said.
The five-story building, also known as the Firestone Mill, was once the South's largest textile plant under one roof and signified a key turning point in the region's labor history.
In 1929, it was the site of a bloody textile strike that left a Gastonia police chief and a union organizer dead.
The plant once produced cotton yarn and tire-cord fabric but officially closed in 1993. The city of Gastonia and Preservation North Carolina struggled to find a new use for the building, but plans for a civic center, hotel and lofts fell through.
In December, Great Rock Properties LLC announced plans to renovate the building for Piedmont Community Charter School and government offices. The group hoped to begin work this spring but had not started yet.
Distributed by the Associated Press
