Charlestown Mall Fire May Last 48 Hours, Utica Issues Air Quality Alert

Firefighters are still trying to put out a blaze at the former Charlestown Mall in Utica, New York. The Utica Fire Department expects it’ll take at least 24 hours to extinguish the fire.

“We're setting up to be here for 24 hours and I wouldn't be surprised if we are here for 48 hours,” Utica Fire Chief Scott Ingersoll told WIBX.

Rain was expected in the New York town Thursday. “Now we’ve got the weather coming in that we’re going to have to deal with it this afternoon,” Assistant Fire Chief Fred Distefano explained to the Observer-Dispatch. “It’s hard because the building is so big, and there’s the area that burned that we can’t get to.”

The Fire Department was called just before 1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The Utica Fire Department was quickly joined by Frankfort, Schuyler, and Whitesboro Fire Departments to fight the multiple alarm fire.

Ingersoll says there are currently no injuries reported and the fire’s origin remains unknown. For now, the fire is under investigation.

Lower East Utica residents are warned to close their windows due to the lower air quality. Ash and smoke are concerns. Anyone who can smell smoke should close their windows. The UFD also told citizens to stay inside whenever possible.

Several roads are closed, including Bleecker Street and the Route 5S Eastbound off-ramp to Turner Street.

WKTV notes that it seems roofing and some walls have collapsed.

The Charlestown Mall complex has an owner, but the building has not held businesses for well over a decade, according to Lite 98.7.

The complex survived two fires last summer, but the owner, Michael Cancilla, was issued four code violations afterward, all pertaining to the aftermath of the fire. He failed to secure the premises within 72 hours of the fire and he needed to provide written intent of what he planned to do with the building next, the Observer-Dispatch reports.

Distefano believes Thursday’s incident is actually the fifth or sixth time the Utica Fire Department has had to visit the vacant property.