A vacant commercial building that once housed a furniture store and was later known as a source for Halloween costumes, party supplies and quirky novelties, was destroyed Monday night by a fire of unknown origin.
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, city records show that the building had been cited for several building code violations, and the latest owners were scheduled for a hearing on outstanding violations in Municipal Court next Friday.
The fire broke out at about 8:15 p.m. on the second floor of Morris Novelty, a brick and wood frame building at 523 Main St. The blaze proved stubborn to completely extinguish and firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night and into Tuesday morning, continuing to douse “hot spots.”
The business had been closed for several years and no one was inside when the fire erupted. The smoke and flames were noticed by several passers-by who phoned it in.
According to Fire Chief William Sisson, the building's sprinkler system was non-functioning so there was no water being supplied to it. He said there were other structural problems, such as there being essentially a maze of wall dividers and stairwells, and some holes in the flooring, which made it too difficult and dangerous for the firefighters to enter with the hoses. Instead, they fought the blaze from the exterior and at both ends of the structure, Sisson said.
In addition, Sisson said, the building was filled with costumes, boxes of merchandise, plastic wrapping and other remnants left over from the novelties business which kept burning and created a thick, black smoke in the immediate neighborhood. While no firefighters were injured in the four-alarm blaze, Sisson said the firefighters were continuously monitored for carbon monoxide due to the acrid smoke.
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