Crime & Safety

Warehouse to Be Razed After Fire

A dilapidated, vacant warehouse on Willet Avenue in East Providence will be demolished Wednesday after a fire of unknown origin inside the structure late Tuesday.

A dilapidated vacant warehouse at 1070 Willett Ave. in Riverside will be demolished Wednesday, Oct. 3, after a fire inside the structure late Tuesday afternoon and early evening caused additional unsafe conditions.

East Providence Fire Department Capt. Oscar Elmasian said the fire was contained to the interior of the rundown structure.

Smoke flowing out of the building through a portion of the roof that was missing alerted passers-by to the blaze at about 3:30 pm, he said.

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“Previous incidents made the building unsafe to enter,” said Elmasian. “We had to wait to get an excavator to take down a wall to get inside.”

Elmasian said the cause of the fire was unknown Tuesday night.

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“There was electricity to the building,” he said, even though the structure was empty after being used for storage “some time ago.”


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