Aspinock Memories
Priority Finishing-plus
Canal Street fire, 1987
By Bill Pearsall
Putnam Municipal Historian
If I can steal a line from one of my all-time favorite history programs, I might say like Walter Cronkite – “Wednesday, December 2, 1987, a day like any other day but you are there”.
At approximately 9 a.m. that day a fire broke out in one of the companies housed in a mill building on Canal Street. It is thought the fire started in Dimension Sail Cloth Company, then spread to a neighboring business, Priority Finishing.
As the fire quickly spread, a huge explosion occurred at Priority Finishing. The building collapsed onto Canal Street. Fortunately, the East Putnam Fire Department had repositioned their truck on Canal Street in time, thereby preventing its loss when the building collapsed. A black cloud of smoke was said to have blocked out the sun. The black clouds and the explosion were seen and heard up to 10 miles away.
Another dilemma facing the fire fighters was the antiquated Putnam water supply system. The huge volume of water needed quickly sucked the water from the hydrants. Businesses and homes were subsequently without water for an extended period. Fire departments were forced to take water from the Quinebaug River.
A huge pile of debris continued smoldering for days. Regulatory agencies were involved trying to determine if the hundreds of barrels inside the building reported by firefighters contained hazardous waste. Eventually, companies from as far away as Ohio were called in to assist in the cleanup.
As Putnam’s Municipal Historian, I would like to put together a booklet on this huge event. If you participated as a firefighter or have memories of that day, let me know. I am at the museum in the town hall Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or you can call me at 860-963-6800 x 301 and leave a message. And remember – “You were there!”
Information for this article is from the Aspinock Historical Society’s archives and from the Observer Patriot newspaper.
Aspinock Memories graces the pages of the Putnam Town Crier to keep Putnam’s history alive.
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Devastating fire on Canal Street in 1987. Photos courtesy of the Aspinock Historical Society.
Canal Street fire 1987.