UPDATE: Crews put out fire at old paper building in Hamilton they use as training site

UPDATE @12:20 p.m.:

A small fire was located by firefighters this morning in the old Mohawk Paper building at Dayton and Martin Luther King Jr. streets.

Hamilton Fire Deputy Chief Ken Runyan said the condition of the abandoned building makes is a “special hazard” for firefighters, but firefighters were able to enter the building from an outside stairway and found a fire in a room on the second floor that was extinguished.

The department’s fire investigator is now at the scene.

READ MORE: ‘Do Not Enter’: A large Hamilton fire underscored the dangers of the area’s aging, empty buildings

“There are no utilities to the building. We have had problems with people getting into this building for a long time and we have been working with the owner. He has been diligent in securing the structure,” Runyan said.

The deputy chief said there is a “heavy fire load” in the building because of the paper left behind and holes in the floor.

“But we have trained on this building,” Runyan said, adding all went well today.

INITIAL STORY:

Multiple units are in the scene of a fire in the old Mohawk Paper building at Dayton and Martin Luther King Jr. streets in Hamilton.

Smoke was reported coming the multi-floor building at about 10:35 p.m. this morning. Fire units, including a ladder truck, from Hamilton and Fairfield Township on at the scene.

FROM 2015: Massive fire ravages former Beckett paper mill, Hamilton

We have a crew at the scene and will update this story as more information becomes available.

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