Kleen Brite Labs fire ruled arson

At one point, the Brockport Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan noticed that the smoke plume was changing colors and also banking down in the area of some residences nearby. The 911 center activated a reverse emergency call system to the homes affected instructing them to stay inside with their doors and windows closed. The Monroe County Haz-Mat Team was summoned with representatives from the Monroe County Health Department. The Haz Mat Team went to work to determine if what the chief was seeing posed a problem and the Health Department conducted air and water sampling with negative results for any potential hazard to the community. Photo by PIO Chris Martin.

Kleen Brite Labs fire ruled arson

On September 9, at about 6:31 p.m., the Brockport Fire and Police Departments responded to 100 Fair Street, the property formerly occupied by Kleen Brite Laboratories, for a reported structure fire.

First arriving apparatus reported a large plume of smoke rising from the Northeast corner of the structure, which is not readily accessible from the main entrance side of the building. Brockport Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan, realizing he had a large fire load, unstable structure and difficulty in accessing the blaze, immediately started calling for mutual aid assistance. Before the fire was called under control at 11:15 p.m., the Chief had mobilized some 400 firefighters from 19 departments across three counties.

Ambulances from Brockport, Hamlin, Spencerport and Monroe Ambulance Service were summoned to insure the safety of the large number of firefighters involved in extinguishing the blaze.

Youths were seen leaving the area shortly before fire equipment was dispatched, and those same two youths had been seen earlier going to the building. Based on witness descriptions, officers of the Brockport Police Department were able to locate two suspects in the crowd of onlookers. The two juvenile suspects were later identified by witnesses as being those who had been seen going to the building, and leaving from the area, shortly before the fire was reported.

After interview of the subjects in cooperation with their parents, and investigation by Brockport Police Officers Paul Wheat and Stephen Mesiti, it was determined that the two youths had entered the Kleen Brite buildings, specifically the label room, and set fire to boxes within that room. The fire spread quickly and eventually caught portions of the structure.

Both juveniles also revealed that they had been involved in an earlier fire starting event on August 28.

The subjects were returned to the custody of their parents. Charges will be offered to Monroe County Family Court for arson, 4th degree and burglary, 3rd degree, both felony offenses.

The Kleen Brite Laboratories is an abandoned site and has stood unoccupied for the last three years.