Firefighters from Ansonia, Derby and Seymour battled a fire Friday night at Ansonia Copper and Brass in Ansonia.
No injuries were reported.
The fire was first reported at 5 p.m. inside a foundry shop in the building. Firefighter activity had slowed down as of 7 p.m. as crews worked to put out the last extensions of the blaze in the building’s roof.
“We found a fire that had extended from the work level up into the ceiling,” said Ansonia Fire Department Assistant Chief Scott Trembley at the scene.
The ceiling is about 30 to 40 feet off the ground, he said.
Firefighters extinguished flames inside Ansonia Copper and Brass, but then had to deal with stubborn flames in the roof.
“At this point we are still working on it. We’re still chasing it,” Trembley said at about 6:30 p.m. “The roof material is very difficult to deal with. It’s almost like spongy-type material. We’re going to be wetting it down for awhile.”
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The outside air temp — 25 degrees.
“We’re working against the elements,” Trembley said, noting that any water firefighters sprayed from hoses froze on the ground, presenting a danger of slips and falls.
One or two employees were inside the building when the fire started but got out without incident.
Trembley said the building had been the site of at least three blazes that he could remember.
He said the cause of the Friday’s hadn’t been determined, and that fire marshal’s office would be investigating how it started.
The fire was initially reported at 25 Main St. — one of the Farrel buildings.
The Farrel complex and Ansonia Copper and Brass are next to each other. Though Ansonia Copper and Brass offices have a Liberty Street address, fire trucks had to access the area of the fire via Riverside Drive, on the opposite side of the Naugatuck River, over which a bridge extends to the rear of the business.
Metro-North initially stopped trains because firefighters had to lay hoses across the train tracks that pass through the Farrel complex at the end of West Main Street. The train stoppage was temporarily, as firefighters didn’t need the West Main Street hydrant.