The former Crawford Furniture building, located at 1061 Allen St. is the latest vacant historic property in the city to be ravaged by fire.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the fire at the vacant manufacturing plant is just one of many fires in recent years that have resulted in the destruction of several historic buildings throughout Jamestown.

“I’ve seen way too many large historic fires in the last couple years as mayor,” he said. “To see this building burn is heartbreaking.”

Sundquist described the fire Wednesday as a travesty that unnecessarily put the city’s firefighters, volunteer crews and county responders at risk in order to prevent the fire from spreading further.

A massive fire at 1061 Allen St. ravaged the former Crawford Furniture building Wednesday. As firefighters worked tirelessly to prevent the fire from spreading, Mayor Eddie Sundquist reflected on the historical importance of the building as well as the contamination dangers presented by the fire. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd

“To see this burn down is truly a travesty, because we’ve raised the alarm, so to speak, on this building, have kept the current owner under a lawsuit, brought in both the New York state DEC and the federal EPA to threaten to sue over the contaminants of this building,” Sundquist said.

The mayor said the fire presents air quality concerns and water runoff concerns due to the contaminants previously discovered in the building that were not properly addressed by the current owner.

“We’re just really concerned about not only the air quality but the water runoff from this fire and things that are in the building, as well as just the people around this area, because we have active manufacturing sites,” Sundquist said.

Addressing the historical importance of the building, Sundquist acknowledged the former Crawford Furniture building will be a difficult loss for the city. Although the building was currently vacant, it represented Jamestown’s rich history as a city known for its furniture manufacturing.

“It’s another building that we have lost, and it is another wound for the community every time we lose a building here in Jamestown,” Sundquist said.

A massive fire at 1061 Allen St. ravaged the former Crawford Furniture building Wednesday. As firefighters worked tirelessly to prevent the fire from spreading, Mayor Eddie Sundquist reflected on the historical importance of the building as well as the contamination dangers presented by the fire. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd

While firefighters worked to put out the remaining fire well into the early afternoon, Sundquist told The Post-Journal he is hopeful that eventually the property can be reutilized to benefit the community.

“I’m just hoping that we’re able to work with all of our state and federal partners to help remediate the site and hopefully put something else here,” he said.

A massive fire at 1061 Allen St. ravaged the former Crawford Furniture building Wednesday. As firefighters worked tirelessly to prevent the fire from spreading, Mayor Eddie Sundquist reflected on the historical importance of the building as well as the contamination dangers presented by the fire. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd