After a large fire at the abandoned Longmont sugar factory early Christmas morning — the second fire at the building in two years — officials and property owners have raised concerns about the safety and future of the area.
As was the case when a blaze was put out at the location in September 2016, it is not being investigated further because of safety concerns for the firefighters and investigators.
“It’s too dangerous to send anyone in to investigate,” said Molly Cropp, a spokeswoman for the Longmont Fire Department.
In addition to fire and structural dangers, there are also concerns about asbestos in the building.
But the owner of the property, Richard Thomas, said based on the intensity of the fire, he thinks it was set intentionally and was not just a small campfire that got out of control.
“It shocked me to see the size of the fire, and to see the intensity,” he said. “I hope this isn’t somebody practicing for a terrorist attack.”
Thomas said they have had issues in the past with transients or kids exploring the area or building small fires. He said most of the time the kids are just curious, but that they had to scare off a large group of teens dressed in black two weeks ago.
“They just don’t teach boundaries anymore,” he said. “I went to see ‘Star Wars’ and it was bomb this, bomb that. We are overwhelming our kids with war and bombing and terrorism. Nobody learns anything about respecting individual boundaries.”
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