Fire Tears Through Southside Binghamton Family Dollar

Officials will be looking into the cause of a two alarm fire on the South Side of the City of Binghamton that was reported in a commercial plaza at around 12 a.m. January 3.

Fire crews spent close to five and a half hours after fire tore through the Family Dollar Store on Vestal Avenue, heavily damaging that store and causing smoke damage to the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy and smoke and water damage to Domino’s Pizza and Manni’s Donuts.

Parts of Vestal Avenue and South Washington Street between Vestal Ave. and the Vestal Parkway were closed for hours and road crews quickly responded to lay down salt as the water used to put out the fire quickly froze.

Fire officials say the fire in the Family Dollar burned very hot due to plastics and other contents of the building and putting the blaze out was tricky once it got into the layers of the composite roof.

The fire was said to be so hot, it actually partially melted steel in the building.

In spite of the challenging conditions, there was no immediate report of injuries.

Vestal and Five Mile Point assisted all the City Firefighters who responded and New York State Electric and Gas was quickly on the scene to cut power and gas.  Water to the plaza was also turned off.