NORWOOD, MASS. (WHDH) - The EPA is investigating whether chemicals from inside an old factory in Norwood are leaking out.

Fire fighters in Norwood spent hours pouring hundreds of thousands of gallons of water on the massive flames that torched the old factory on Davis Ave.

On Thursday, several environmental agencies were on the scene trying to figure out if all that water from the hoses caused chemicals from inside the vacant building to run off into a nearby brook that runs underneath the building.

Just downstream is a small pond filled with dead fish, surrounded by signs warning that the water is contaminated.

Neighbors say this is normally a popular fishing spot.

“It affects a lot of people, nobody wants to come up here and see the fish dead and everything like that,” said James Odom who lives in the area.

Someone with the DPW has since removed the signs, saying they believe the water has flushed itself out. Neither the EPA or the fire department have confirmed that.

As for the fire, crews were back on scene Friday morning putting out hot spots.

Firefighters say human involvement likely started the fire late Wednesday night, but investigators still don’t know if this was intentional or accidental.

According to the EPA, the fire is mostly out, but there is still some smoldering.

The EPA and MassDEP are now working to contain the runoff and limit the amount entering Hawes Brook.

Officials said the building is “structurally unsound” and is unsafe to enter.

 

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