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Gene Kennedy reportingAuthorities believe someone purposely set a structure fire late Monday night in Farmington.
Chief Larry Gregory, Farmington Fire Dept.: "Whoever set the fire, and I'm guessing it was set because it's an abandoned building."
Residents called police last night saying they saw teenagers in the area around the time the fire ignited. Fire officials think they set this abandoned building on fire just for kicks.
Since the building was abandoned, the power was not hooked up, and there are no indications of any natural causes that would have sparked the fire.
Firefighters think it started on the west side of the building. When they arrived, it was fully involved. Half of it burned down.
Fortunately for the property owner, the building had been scheduled to be demolished sometime next week.
Despite the fact this was more arson, it actually offered a unique opportunity. Farmington's volunteer department tested out some new equipment.
Larry Gregory Fire Chief, Farmington Fire Dept.: "It was really well involved when we got here. It gave our department valuable training in working with a large structure fire in a rather difficult location. We had to pull quite a bit of 3-inch hose to get back to the scene of the fire. I think we have half the building still standing."
Due to safety concerns, firefighters are burning down the rest of the building.
Fire investigators hope someone can come forward with some more information on who did this. The chief admits, it's going to be very tough to catch the culprit.
