State Office Building Open For Business After Fire

The New York State Office buildings in Hauppauge were open for business Monday morning, thanks to round the clock cleanup this weekend. 

Heather Groll, a spokeswoman for the New York State Office of General Services, said the Perry B. Duryea state office building off Veterans Highway in Hauppauge was able to re-open for business as usual Monday after Friday's fire. The state building was evacuated Friday afternoon

Groll said the fire was limited primarily to the basement on the B side of the building, although the smoke did rises to the fourth floor in the sixth-story building. 

Getting the building ready for business on Monday took extensive efforts, according to the Groll. 

"We worked diligently over the weekend with air cleaning specialists and cleaning specialists around the clock, and we were finally able to open the building this morning," the spokeswoman said. 

Friday's fire was started when the two transformers in the Perry B. Duryea building sparked in the electrical vault. It forced approximately 2,000 people to evacuate the building. More than 10 fire departments were called to the scene. 

Wendy Ladd, a spokeswoman for National Grid, said electrical workers were called in to de-energize the state building at 7 p.m. Friday and begin making necessary repairs to the building's internal structure. The building was put back online at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. 

The extent of the fire is still under accessment, according to New York State Office of General Service as more minor cleanup continues. 

"Clearly, the transformer was damaged. We're still accessing what kind of damage is done to the building, but the building has been returned to full power," Groll said. 

As for what sparked the fire, Groll said the cause is still under investigation. She said it's suspect that it may be weather related based on early reports.