An early morning 6-alarm fire destroyed a building at the former Ocean Spray factory on Cranberry Highway on Monday.  There were no serious injuries reported, but Cranberry Highway was closed to traffic, and area businesses were without power for most of the morning.

According to Onset Deputy Fire Chief, Jeff Osswald, the fire was reported to 911 just after 2 a.m. by a motorist on Cranberry Highway.  Fire departments from Onset, Wareham, Bourne, Marion, Mattapoisett, Barnstable, Lakeville, Middleborough, Mashpee, Plymouth, Carver, Rochester, and Bridgewater were on scene and were able to contain the blaze to the eastern-most building on the property.

The building measured approximately 120 feet x 140 feet, had three stories, and was originally used for cold storage at the Ocean Spray factory.  Because it was built before insulation, the walls were very thick, contained cork, and were designed to allow circulation of cool air.  All of these characteristics made the fire burn hot and furious.

The building housed Fireslate 2, a business which makes specialty countertops, flooring and other architectural features out of a special mixture of cement and sand, on its ground floor.  Other floors were vacant.

Fireslate 2 owner Tom Worthern said that everything was a complete loss. He had no insurance, and he estimates that the replacement cost for the equipment, including a computerized cutting machine, or CNC, that he had recently paid off, could reach $500,000.

"We had computers, databases, orders to ship... all sorts of things that are gone for good," Worthern said.  "It was like a frozen moment in life, we can never get it back."

He said that he has talked with companies who make countertops, and they will fill the remaining orders. He will then evaulate whether to reopen the 22-year-old business.

He said he was just glad that nobody was in the building at the time of the blaze.

"You can't look back and get angry," he said.  You just say here's where I am, and let's go forward."

The complex containing the stove store, bakery, Village Furniture, and the flea market were not directly impacted by the fire. Nor were any other buildings in the area, although blowing ashes ignited a small, brush fire behind Benny's that was quickly suppressed.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Onset Fire Department Captain Howard Andersen Jr., who said that the blaze "was one of the largest fires we've had in Onset in decades." Crews did not finish clearing the scene until 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

Andersen praised the many departments that responded, and said that the entire operation went extremely well.

"We protected the main complex and everybody performed admirably," Andersen said.  "For a fire that major, things went as best as could be hoped."

According to investigators at the State Fire Marshal's office, a member of the building owner's family had been using a torch to cut salvage metals from the building on Sunday, which may have ignited the cork.  The cork may have smoldered for hours before the fire was reported early Monday morning.

Andersen confirmed that an individual was using a blowtorch Sunday, but he said that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.