Massachusetts Blaze Sends Fireball into the Air

Holyoke Mass -- A spectacular fire tonight consumed the former Parsons Paper Co. on Sargeant Street, the first paper company in the city renowned as The Paper City.

The wall of the block-long building facing Sargeant Street collapsed about 10:45 p.m.

Moments later came a massive collapse of the bulk of the multistory brick structure that rocketed a fireball into the air and sent a wave of heat radiating out for hundreds of yards.

The company has owned the 313,000-square-foot former mill and site at 84 Sargeant St. since 1959.

Established in 1853, Parsons Paper Co. was the first paper company in the city. National Vulcanized Fiber closed it in April 2005.