Mount Vernon Building Department Expected to Reopen Wednesday

The Mount Vernon Building Department is expected to reopen on Wednesday morning, following the closure of the office on Monday because of suspected arson. Crews spent Tuesday cleaning, assessing the damage and reorganizing files.

In a bizarre set of circumstances, the fire was discovered after an evacuation of City Hall at 11 a.m. on Monday. The evacuation was caused when a suspicious object was found on the second floor of City Hall outside the Building Department. The Westchester County bomb squad had to be called to remove the object, which was later determined to be an outdoor, pest-control device.

About 10 minutes after City Hall reopened, smoke was detected on the inside of the Building Department. The fire was contained to a large file cabinet, though many original records were damaged or destroyed.

Public safety officials are investigating whether the two incidents were related, as well as the cause of the fire, which has been labeled suspicious.

“We will not be intimidated, and we will continue to move Mount Vernon forward,” said Mayor Richard Thomas. “These two incidents underscore the urgent need to address the chronic budget shortfalls with respect to the security needed to protect employees and visitors at City Hall and the technology needed to replace paper documents with digitized records that can’t be destroyed. This is a warning that precautions must be taken. We may not be as lucky the next time.”

Click here for video of the press briefing conducted by Mayor Thomas, Police Commissioner Shawn Harris, and Fire Commissioner Teddy Beale.

Mayor Thomas’ remarks at Monday’s press conference below.

I want to thank and praise the men and women from the Mount Vernon Police and Fire Departments and the Westchester County bomb squad who went into harm’s way today to keep our people safe.

There were two separate incidents here at City Hall. A suspicious package and a suspicious fire.

The danger is over. There were no injuries. The building was reopened at 12:45. Again, thanks to our police and firefighters and the County Bomb team. City Hall was evacuated at 11 a.m. after our police detail in the building identified a suspicious package outside the Building Department on the second floor.

A team from the county’s bomb squad was immediately dispatched. Their investigation found that the object was a pest control device. As that situation was being brought under control, roughly about 10 minutes after the bomb squad had made its determination and people had been let back in the building, smoke was smelled coming from inside the Building Department, as it turned out from a fire in filing cabinets.

The Fire Department responded, and City Hall was evacuated for a second time. The fire is being described as suspicious and is under investigation.”