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That policy, however, is about to change. More inspections will be done at smaller plants, which generally have more violations.

However, even if the plant had been inspected every year, the fire deputy said it is unlikely it would have made a difference.

"I don't think there's anything we could have done to prevent this," he said.

The town files indicate that a lot of dangerous chemicals were at the site. The most recent record lists about a half-dozen chemicals stored there, including ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and heptane. According to hazardous materials information in the file, heptane has "extremely flammable vapors that can travel and explode."

Farrell said another hazardous chemical, toluene, was in a storage tank on the site. Even empty containers of toluene "can contain explosive vapors," according to the file.

The deputy chief declined to discuss the investigation into the cause of the explosion, which is being headed by the state fire marshal's office. He expressed confidence, however, that it will be solved.

"I think they'll have a pretty good idea of what happened," Farrell said.

The file does have information about the size and location of the demolished building, which was set off Water Street behind a bakery. Several diagrams show a one-story structure that is 172 feet by 101 feet. Drawings also reveal underground storage tanks with a 9,000-gallon capacity on the side of the building along Bates Street, where several homes were destroyed. However, these tanks survived the explosion.

"To the best of our knowledge, they are still intact," Farrell said.

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