Firefighters are currently battling a four-alarm fire on Friday (January 5) at an industrial park in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
City officials said that the fire, which began at 05:30 local time (08:30 UTC), burned the location of the first Singer Sewing Machine factory in the United States, with part of the building already collapsed.
Elizabeth City spokesperson Ruby Contreras told the Associated Press that there were no reports of anyone inside the building and no reports of injuries.
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said the fire was expected to burn all day before it was under control.
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Smoke Seen from NYC
The large industrial building is located south of Newark Liberty International Airport and separated from Staten Island by a strait and Newark Bay. Its proximity to New York City meant that a huge plume of smoke caused by the fire could be seen from Manhattan.
In 1873, the Singer Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company purchased 32 acres (13 hectares) at the site and established a factory where it would make the iconic machines for more than a century, NJ.com reported.
The site, sold for $1 million in August as per public records, was the largest workforce plant in the world for a single establishment at the time.
The cause of the fire is currently being investigated, Contreras added.
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