Government center re-opens; fire ruled intentional

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

MONTICELLO, NY — Last week, Sullivan County’s emergency management coordinator said the investigation into the cause of the June 23 fire at the Sullivan County Government Center was “interesting.”

With the turn of events, Richard Martinkovic’s comment has become an utter understatement.

District Attorney Stephen Lungen announced at a July 5 press conference that the fire, which gutted the county attorney’s office and the adjacent office of audit control, was set deliberately. The fire began at about 8:10 p.m. on the same day County Attorney Sam Yasgur laid out the county’s case against former Department of Public Works Deputy Commissioner Phillip Nicoletti during a civil service hearing.

“The fire investigation determined that any of the accidental sources for the fire that evening were eliminated,” Lungen said.

Officials are still declining to comment on the particular cause of the fire or to name any suspects.

The same day, following the environmental cleanup process that involved tearing up carpets, removing every ceiling tile and wiping soot from every file in every drawer in the Sullivan County Government Center, officials re-opened the building. It had been closed to the public since June 24, the day after the fire.

The county hired three contractors to carry out the job, which will be paid for by the county’s insurance company, Martinkovic said. The cost could exceed $2 million.

Last Thursday about 135 workers were cleaning the building, said Norman Love of Crystal Restoration Corp.

Love said smoke and soot were drawn throughout the building by the air-circulating system, which continued to run during the fire.

Commercial dehumidfiers and blowers were running in the building as workers swept up the last piles of soot and scraped up damp carpet in the burned-out offices, the legislative hearing room and the hallway leading to both.

As the workers cleaned, Edward Townsend of Environmental Management Solutions of NY was checking for air contaminants, including mold.

“All preliminary data indicates that there are no immediate environmental concerns associated with the fire,” Townsend said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the county, state police, the district attorney’s office, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department deputies and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.