VIDEOS/PHOTOS: The closed Outlet store building was just steps away from WJAR's Broadcast House in downtown Providence.
So, on Oct. 16, 1986, Frank Coletta and Art Lake were among the first to smell smoke.
The Outlet was on fire, and WJAR had a front-row seat.
"Firefighters shown here on the Broadcast House roof. There you can see the explosion throwing firefighters to the deck of Broadcast House," Frank reported.
Our "Spy in The Sky" traffic reporter Tony DiBiasio flew over the inferno.
"Flames up about 300 or 400 feet," he said. "Smoke up about 1,500 feet."
NBC 10's Dyana Koelsch reported live from the station's roof.
"Now police are on the scene, and they have already started their investigation into some possible causes," Koelsch reported. "It may be arson involved here. As one fire official put it, mice did not start this blaze."