Monsey, NY, November 18, 2005--Investigators have searched the rubble of a flooring business looking for what caused the fire that destroyed the building on Robert Pitt Drive, according to the Journal News.
No cause had been determined as of this morning as Monsey firefighters sprayed the rubble with tons of water to douse flames that reignited among the piles of carpet and hot steel girders.
A fire reported at 9:27 p.m. Wednesday engulfed Ace Flooring, a family owned business for at least 35 years. About 100 volunteer firefighters from four departments battled the blaze until about 5:15 a.m. today.
Monsey firefighters were called back about 7:10 a.m. when a Ramapo police officer stationed at the site spotted flames shooting through the rubble.
"Big rolls of carpet with cardboard tubes remained heated and rekindled," Monsey Fire Chief Andrew Schlissel said this morning, after shooting water from the department's tower truck cannon onto the rubble.
As Schlissel pounded the rubble with water from the fire tower cab 50 feet above the rubble, an excavator churned up the smoldering carpeting, flooring and other debris.
Tons of steel girders also littered the site, where a rectangular building estimated at 175 to 200 feet long and 75 to 80 feet wide once stood.
As firefighters doused the flames, arson investigators poked around the rubble looking for clues to where the fire started and what caused the flames.
Ramapo police officers closed off Robert Pitt Drive from Route 59 so the firefighters could battled the blaze and detectives could investigate.
Ramapo police and county arson detectives were investigation a report of a man running from the building on Wednesday night just before the fire was reported. The reported sighting had not yet been confirmed, detectives said.
"We're looking at several different factors that may have caused the fire," said Detective Doug Lerner, an arson unit investigator with the Sheriff's Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Lerner and his partner, Detective Jim Benison, had not come to any conclusions yet.
"Everything is unknown," Lerner said. "It's still under investigation. There are still small fires under the rubble."
The owner, Yankel D. Rosenberg of Monsey, was seen at the site today by investigators and customers. He could not be reached for comment.
Benjamin Engel of Monsey said Rosenberg had been in business for at least 35 years, starting out in a small storefront near the former Monsey post office building. Engel said he probably was one of Rosenberg's first customers.
"When I got married 35 years ago, he did the flooring in our apartment," Engel said, shaking his head near the smoldering fires and the burned out cement cinder blocks that were once a business. "He ran an excellent business with his sons now. He served many people in the community and sold to many builders.
"He's a very good man," Engel said. "This is a shame and loss for the community at large."
