Henry County pallet factory burns for hours

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (WISH) - A long-closed pallet factory in New Castle caught fire at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and was still burning three hours later, emergency officials said.

When firefighters arrived to the business on South 14th Street - which had been closed for years - thick smoke was hanging in the air, but the metal building was locked. They had to cut into the building to get to the flames, which eventually reached high into the air.

Small explosions were reported as the business burned. No injuries had been reported, emergency officials said. As of about 11 p.m., firefighters were still hunting down hot spots.

It was unknown what types of things were inside the defunct business - beyond the wooden pallets. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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