Charlestown on fire again

[Clipper]

www.wktv.com/content/news/Several-crews-battling-large-fire-at-former-CharlesTown-Mall-572235831.html

It looks like this finally may be the end of the Charlestown building. My only hope is that there were no homeless people inside and that no firefighters are injured fighting the blaze. Those old oil soaked plank floors must be making the fire very hot and intense.

It will be a huge mess to clean up and demolish and as one of the comments mentions, it will most likely be a contentious fight to see who is responsible for the cleanup. I think the building straddles the county lines and the Utica/Frankfort line. I am not sure. It will be a massive clean up and hauling away all that debris will be a major and very costly task.

[clarencebunsen]

The county line does run through the building. If you bought something there, the amount of sales tax charged depended on which side of the corridor the store was on.

[Deleted]

Spectrum News mentioned that the City tried to get federal funds to demolish the building but it was refused. The City does not have necessary funds to demolish the building so I would expect it remain intact to the degree of fire damage, etc.

[Clipper]

The environmental cleanup would probably cost more and take years to complete. No telling what may be left in the rubble and no telling what chemicals may be in the soil around the building after Savage Arms and Univac both had manufacturing operations there.

For safety reasons I would hope that Utica and Frankfort would at least push in any remaining standing walls and bulldoze the rubble into piles of some sort. The city has the equipment if Frankfort would kick in for some of the fuel and labor costs to get it done.

[BHU]

It should have been taken down 20 years ago. Now it's going to take hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean it up & God knows when that will happen & who's going to foot the bill. One can only imagine the hazerdous chemicals dumped there over the years by manufacturers & where they ended up. It's a disgrace that officials allowed that hellhole to stand as long as it did. That place will end up like the old Bossert's facility in West Utica. An empty shell of a building that took years to clean up.

[Deleted]

The City is under an alert for severe caution due to air quality. The wind is East so I'm getting hit with the smoke. Earlier today I could see the smoke outside my window and just at that time I got the email alert from New York State alerts. Windows to be closed and air conditioning off. News just mentioned now at 5:30 PM that wind will switch to West and that will clear it out. I have been having breathing problems since about 10 AM. Be glad when this is over. Plus the guy next door smoking his who knows what doesn't help the situation. That is a completely different story.

[Clipper]

Wow. The wind will shift but then the Valley will be suffering. Frankfort will really get it as it funnels right down the valley.

[BHU]

I didn't smell anything, just a slight whiff this afternoon & we had the windows open. Palmeiri was on the news tonight & he said that he was notified by NYS officials that all the chemicals were removed previous to the fire so I stand corrected. That's good news. 

I remember when the old Erie Canal ran just north of that complex, which is now the east west arterial. The water was a putrid red orange color. One can only imagine what lies under that roadway.

[Deleted]

The news tonight said it has so far taken 2 and a half million gallons of water to attempt to put the fire out. At 6:30PM they were still at it. Fire Departments are coming in from all over the area relieving each other so I guess they can be on call if another fire starts in their district.

I went outside to our patio and it still has a strange smell in the air. Smokey chemical smell. I came back in.....

[Clipper]

Is Charlestown still burning this morning? I guess that a good long lasting and soaking rain would be a welcome event for the firefighters.

[Deleted]

I missed the news this morning but late news last night it was mentioned that the weather was not helping the firefighters. The little rain plus the humidity set up an inversion layer whereby the smoke from the building was falling toward the ground rather than dissipate in the air. Interesting stuff. Parts of the building is now collapsing.

[Deleted]

AIR QUALITY A TOP CONCERN FOLLOWING CHARLESTOWN MALL BLAZE

UTICA, N.Y. --- When fire crews arrived on the scene early Thursday morning, the flames coming from the abandoned Charlestown Mall site could be seen for miles. However, daylight revealing the fallout of the blaze and the effect it had across the area.

The scent of smoke lingering as far Marcy and Westmoreland sparking concerns among residents and officials with air quality.

Utica going into a state of emergency urging residents to close their windows and doors and shut off their air conditioners.

"Being outside is terrible. You can definitely smell it. I was out having breakfast and I could smell it there. when I got out of the car here, you could smell it pretty bad here," said Utica resident Lon Thrasher.

Congressman Anthony Brindisi now calling for the DEC and the EPA to monitor the quality of air. The Mayor said the city as well as the State has already conducted an air quality test. Result have yet to be determined.

The Mohawk Valley Water Authority estimates around 2.5 million gallons of water were used to combat the fire. That number is expected to rise as fire crews remain there through the night.

www.wktv.com/content/news/Air-quality-a-top-concern-following-Charlestown-Mall-blaze-572242631.html








I think the building was set on fire by someone!

[Clipper]

I agree PB. It is rather doubtful that it was a lightening strike of spontaneous combustion. It seems that unless it went undetected for a long period of time, the extension would not have been as broad when firefighters arrived on scene. If they were to bother to investigate cause and were able to determine one, it would not surprise me to find that it was set in multiple locations throughout the building.

[BHU]

I went past there on the arterial this morning & they were still spraying it with water. Multiple fire trucks at the scene.

[Deleted]

BOIL WATER ADVISORY FOR HOMES DUE TO CHARLESTOWN MALL FIRE

The Mohawk Valley Water Authority issued a boil water advisory for due to prolonged reduced pressures from firefighting support for the Charlestown Mall fire.

The boil water advisory is issues for:

▪Bleecker Street from Turner St. east to Ferguson Road

▪ Welshbush Road from Industrial Park to Ferguson Road

▪ Industrial Park Drive

▪ Acacia Avenue

▪Ferguson Road

▪Banek Road

▪Willow Lane

▪ Ritzel Road

▪Acacia Village

▪Masonic Home Complex

Following a return to normal pressures, a boil water advisory will be in effect for the affected area until tests show the water is free from contamination. During this time, customers are advised to boil their water for at least two minutes before using it for drinking or cooking.

Customers are also advised against using any water that appears cloudy or discolored, especially hot water, since such usage will draw the water into the hot water tank, and customers will have to flush the tank once clear water becomes available.

Customers should also avoid washing their clothes in discolored water, since it may contain sediment that could permanently stain their laundry.

www.wktv.com/content/news/Boil-water-advisory-for-homes-due-to-Charlestown-Mall-fire--572246101.html