One of the largest structure fires in Moore County in years blazed away in Robbins today at the old Robbins Mill.

The four-alarm fire started at approximately 10 a.m., and firefighters expect to battle the blaze through the night and into the morning. Currently, the fire is confined to the rear of the building that formerly housed the Milliken textile plant located on Kennedy Street.

Robbins residents are being asked to conserve water for several days due to the pressure fighting the fire put on the town's water system.

Carlton Cole, the county's director of emergency services, said that Moore County has not had this large a structure fire in years.

Approximately 50 fire trucks were out fighting the fire. Every department in the county answered the four-alarm blaze, and units from several surrounding counties have been called in to assist with the fire. Police and sheriff's deputies evacuated a three-block area because of smoke concerns. Those people are being cared for at a shelter at North Moore High School.

The old mill in Robbins had been brought recently, according to a story published in the Jan. 10 edition of The Pilot.

EVH Supply Co. of Randleman bought the approximately 300,000-square-foot mill to house a plant that was going to make paper products that it markets all over the country.

It was thought that the plant could bring more than 200 jobs to the area when it was in full operation.

The mill is the same one that Sen. John Edwards worked at when he was in high school at Robbins. His father, Wallace, worked there for many years.