The long-abandoned Fostoria Glass plant on First Street in Moundsville has now partially collapsed.

The state fire marshal has been summoned and he'll have a lot of evidence to sift through, that officials say all points to arson.

Four departments fought the Fostoria fire for 18 hours.

They were left exhausted.

"We've got a bunch of them who have sore throats at this time." said Moundsville VFD Chief Danny Holmes. "They're worn out."

Yellow smoke with a caustic odor prompted firefighters to order people off the street, into their homes, strongly suggesting they close all windows and vents.

They say it lasted so long because the fire was trapped between the fallen concrete floors.

Finally they knocked down the front wall of the three-story brick structure, to smother the stubborn embers.

Today the fire chief and city council members await the fire marshal's arrival, with strong suspicions of their own.

"We have a lot of suspicions that it is arson," says Chief Holmes. "This building hasn't had any utilities in it for at least five years. And we've heard rumors of some kids playing. Right now it's under investigation."

"You know, it didn't start by itself," said Paul Haynes, Moundsville City Councilman. "There were supposedly kids here. But we won't really know until we finish the investigation."

They say the building was built in the 1920's and is quite sturdy.

They're optimistic they'll soon be able to arrest an arsonist.