ELMIRA HEIGHTS, N.Y. (WENY) -- The Elmira Heights Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying a person seen near the area of an old warehouse on Prescott Ave. on Dec. 5th before a fire broke out within. Police did not say if the person in question is a suspect or a person of interest. 

The fire was large enough to pull in multiple departments from throughout Chemung County. Large flames sent thick plumes of black smoke hundreds of feet into the air. 

At the time of the fire, police and fire officials said they would investigate the cause the cause. 

Originally started as a garment factory in 1893, for 70 years, hundreds of people spent their days manufacturing and selling woolen, cotton, and silk goods and garments within. The factory started losing money in the early 1960s, and was eventually turned into a warehouse. 

This was not the first fire to strike the now defunct warehouse. In 2016, two teenagers intentionally started a fire that destroyed most of the building. 

If you have any information regarding the person's identity, you can contact the Elmira Heights Police Department through Facebook using a private message, by calling 607-733-6580 or emailing [email protected].

WENY News will continue to follow this story and will update as more information becomes available.