FWPD Deputy Chief gives insight on large fire at former paint factory

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Amir Abbas talks with Fort Wayne Fire Department Deputy Chief Adam O’Connor about crews fighting a fire late Monday night and into Tuesday afternoon.

O’Connor described the former paint factory the blaze burned in as “the kind of building that firefighters die in.”

“We’re not sending firefighters into a building that’s already burnt twice and has giant holes in the floor because then we won’t be getting them back,” O’Connor said.

The deputy chief says the department believes the blaze may have been started by unhoused people using the building as a shelter and starting a fire for warmth.