DELANO - A fire that destroyed an abandoned factory Thursday in Delano Township was a case of arson.
State police fire marshal Trooper John F. Burns said someone set the fire in several locations inside the large building at 599 Lofty Road.
"There were multiple points of origin," Burns said Friday.
Crews from Delano, McAdoo, Rush Township, Ryan Township and Mahanoy City were initially called to the scene about 1:30 p.m. and found heavy fire inside the building already making its way through the roof.
Since there are no fire hydrants in the area, a tanker task force was called into service, bringing fire apparatus from throughout Schuylkill County as well as neighboring Luzerne and Carbon counties.
Delano fire Chief Paul Kuropatsky said that although the building once housed Agmet Corp., which used hazardous materials, all of those substances had been removed since the business closed.
As firefighters spent more than five hours bringing the fire under control, Kuropatsky said the only concern was the smoke being emitted by plastics left behind by the most recent occupant of the building, American Cable Recycling.
At the scene, Kuropatsky said no residents in the surrounding communities of Tamanend, Delano or Quakake were in danger and no evacuations were necessary.
Burns asks that anyone with information on the fire or those responsible for setting it call state police at Frackville at 570-874-5300. All information received will remain confidential.