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Police arrest person at scene of Northbridge lumber yard fire that destroyed 4 buildings

NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. — Police arrested a person for interfering with firefighters at the scene of a wood processing facility in Northbridge that continues to burn Tuesday morning, Massachusetts Department of Fire Services spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth told Boston 25 News.

The fire started Monday night at West End Firewood on Purgatory Road, tearing through four buildings and cords of firewood.

Mieth said the fire was still burning at 6 a.m. Tuesday and firefighters are expected to be on the scene all day putting out hot spots.

There is no water supply at the scene so firefighters are shuttling in tanker trucks full of water to put out the fire.

Early Tuesday morning, a Fire Mobilization Plan was activated because local mutual aid resources had been exhausted. A firefighter task force was brought in to relieve the firefighters who had been working throughout the night. The last time the mobilization plan was activated in a big way was the Merrimack Valley gas explosions in 2018, according to Mieth.

The origin and cause of the fire remain unknown right now as local and state investigators can’t begin examining the scene until the fire is out.

Mieth described the damage as “extensive.”

Police arrested one person at the scene for interfering with firefighters, but not for setting the fire.