Official: Sprinklers Were Off at Burned Factory in Connecticut

A Connecticut fire official says the sprinkler system was shut off at a former cardboard package factory that burned down in Torrington.

Torrington’s deputy fire marshal, Joseph Fioretti, says the lack of a working sprinkler system was a major problem. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of Monday’s blaze. A firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, but no one else was hurt.

The Republican-American of Waterbury reports that the sprinkler system at the former Smurfit-Stone Container Co. plant was also turned off when officials found fire and safety code problems at the 109-year-old building last September.

The newspaper reports that the property’s owner, former Mayor Eric Chadwick, was cited for several violations. Chadwick declined to comment Wednesday.