Update (Tuesday 7:30pm): Still working on hotspots
CAMILLUS -- Updates, Tuesday evening:
~Firefighters still on the scene after a smokey rekindle of the building rubble on Tuesday afternoon.
~The boil water advisory for the Village of Camillus remains in effect at least until tests come back on Wednesday morning. Low water pressure is blamed on the firefight, which used two million gallons of water, not counting what's being poured on the Tuesday afternoon-evening rekindle.
~Sweet Spot Development owner Tom Blair tells us the fire will not affect the timetable for the medical center/apartment complex in the undamaged second building at the plant.
~The DEC is aware of pollution to Nine Mile Creek, from fire debris going into the water. We are awaiting word on how they'll proceed. Blair tells us the Brownfields cleanup agreement for the factory site was already completed and awaiting his signature when the fire happened. He expects it to go forward.
~The Camillus community's generosity continues, with donations of pizzas, hot food and water to the Village Hall and Camillus Fire Department to feed volunteer firefighters as well as law enforcers still at the scene Tuesday evening.
(earlier stories):
Firefighters remain at the scene of a blaze that started while workers were demolishing the former Camillus Cutlery factory outside Syracuse.
Fire crews continued to douse smoldering debris Tuesday morning, nearly 18 hours after the blaze was reported early Monday afternoon.
Demolition crews are tearing down what remains of the manufacturing section of the building. The warehouse section is still standing and will likely be preserved.
The roof of the factory has come down. A number of people are stopping at the scene to take pictures.
Camillus Police Chief Thomas Winn tells CNY Central that the fire was ruled accidental and there was no criminal involvement. Chief Winn says a worker was cutting a steel pipe with a torch during light demolition when drippings from the hot pipe fell onto a wooden wall and caught fire.
On Monday evening, police warned area residents that they may see a temporary decrease in water pressure do to fire fighting efforts. Onondaga County water officials are working on increasing pressure. Officials later issued a boil water advisory for the Village of Camillus.
The owner of a company that bought the property in 2011 for redevelopment says sparks from a demolition worker cutting pipes started the blaze. No injuries were reported.
Camillus Cutlery was one of the oldest knife-makers in America and a landmark in the village dating back to the 1870s. It went bankrupt in 2007 because of foreign competition.
(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
