HAMILTON, Ohio — A fire that destroyed a vacant historic building in a southwestern Ohio community this week is being treated as suspicious because the building had no utilities, officials said Thursday.
The fire at the former Beckett Paper Company building in Hamilton, a suburb of Cincinnati, was reported around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The building was fully engulfed in flames when emergency responders arrived shortly afterward, and the fire was sending thick, black smoke up the side that could be seen for miles.
There were no injuries in the fire, and the investigation into its cause is ongoing.
Workers worked through the night to demolish the remains of the charred building, which opened in 1848 but has been empty since 2011.