Fire Set Intentionally

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The fire at the old Erie-Lackawanna train station on West Second Street in Jamestown on Tuesday morning was intentionally set, according to fire investigators.

Firefighters were called to the train station, which is located behind the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena, at 10:30 a.m. after a passerby noticed smoke coming from the west end of the building and called 911.

As soon as Jamestown firefighters arrived on the scene, Battalion Chief Chet Harvey saw flames in the windows as thick, white smoke blanketed the area, prompting him to call an off-duty crew for assistance.

Firefighters had difficulties gaining access to the building and tried everything from kicking in the boarded up front doors to using an ax and a circular saw before the city Public Works Department arrived with a key to the west entrance to the building. Once inside, they determined the fire was confined to the loading area, which is separated from the middle portion of the building by a concrete wall and two steel doors, one of which was open.

Crews doused the burning hay with water for almost an hour and remained on the scene until 12:41 p.m.

"The hay was the only combustible material inside but there was some fiberglass insulation underneath it," Harvey said. "There was quite a bit of hay though, much more than anyone expected to find."

According to Lee Harkness, Downtown Jamestown Development Corp. director, the hay stored at the train station was from an outdoor winter event held outside the ice arena about a year and a half ago.

"The hay was not from the DJDC," he said. "All of the hay for our events is dropped off by farmers before an event and picked up right after its finished."

Sources not quoted in this article said that in the past, the ice arena had used a portion of the train station for overflow storage, although it is unclear whether employees had put the hay in the building or not.

Mayor Sam Teresi said that Tuesday afternoon, corporation council sent out letters to local organizations which may have been using the building for storage.

"The letter explained that if they have anything in the building, they need to remove it immediately or we will get rid of it," Teresi said. "The building is going to be cleaned out and secured with every lock being changed. When we're finished, the only ones with keys will be the police chief, deputy fire chief and the Department of Public Works and the Department of Development."

The fire isn't expected to affect the renovation of the train station, according to Teresi, since the fire didn't have a negative effect on the structure.

The historic 1931 train station has been named one of the ''Seven to Save'' historic locations in New York. The Art Deco landmark has been vacant since 1973 and sustained other fires over the years. The DJDC, the city of Jamestown and the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency have together been working on renovating the structure and turning it into a multi-use downtown hub.

Construction on the roughly $11 million project was set to begin in November and conclude in December 2010. Jamestown firefighters are asking anyone with information about the fire at the train station, or any other suspicious fire to call the arson tip line at 483-7509, where all calls are handled confidentially.

Kristen Johnson contributed to this report.

P-J Video Clip of the fire- www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA8EJNqwYAc

Member Comments

View Comments: | 1-4 | Post a comment

hammonddannyay
06-11-09 6:59 AM »Report Abuse	WE ALL KNOW 11 MILLION IS JUST A STARTING FIGURE FOR THESE GUYS !!! ANYONE CARE TO TAKE A $1000.00 WAGER IT'S OVER $15,000,000.00 AT LEAST BEFORE THEY FINISH IF THEY EVER DO ???
pghdrumr
06-10-09 4:23 PM »Report Abuse	Here is a great idea. Lets keep a huge load of hay in storage. You never know when you may need it. I'll have to stock up and fill my garage with hay, in preparation for ?????? Wow , the brains that we put in charge. Makes you wonder??
MotherNTaxpayer
06-10-09 2:49 PM »Report Abuse	Yeah it will not cost 11 MILLION to work on that! Once again MY money going for something that is not needed. Maybe 1million if even to fix that and the rest in pockets of certain people. And by the way.... as far as the key issue goes...NONONE should have had access to such a historic location!
marino13
06-10-09 11:17 AM »Report Abuse	11 million?? Why??

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