Witness recalls ‘very scary’ scene as Target, Dick’s remain closed after Galleria fire
The fire happened shortly after 1 p.m. at the mall, which is located in the Town of Wallkill.
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Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods remain closed at the Galleria at Crystal Run after a fire forced an evacuation and shutdown for much of the mall for hours Monday afternoon.
The fire happened shortly after 1 p.m. at the mall, which is located in the Town of Wallkill. While the mall has since reopened, both Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target remained closed as of late Tuesday afternoon due to smoke and water damage caused by sprinklers. Officials say Target is expected to reopen sooner than Dick’s Sporting Goods.
A shopper who was inside the mall at the time described confusion and heavy smoke as alarms sounded.
“Somebody said we had a code red,” said Dan Boino, who is from Monroe and was shopping at the mall.
“I saw a ton of smoke all throughout the hallway. It was hard to see,” he said. “It was very scary to see the smoke everywhere. You don’t really know what’s going on.”
Officials say the fire started at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Town of Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman said welding work being done on the roof sent sparks into a storage area, igniting materials inside the store.
“Unfortunately, the store did suffer damage to product and some of the walls in the building,” Hertman said.
While the fire damage itself was limited, smoke and sprinkler activation caused broader disruption inside the mall.
“It was very smoky,” Hertman said. “I arrived shortly after officers and firefighters arrived on the scene. I did a walk-through of the mall in this area and there was a significant amount of smoke. At that time, I made a decision with mall management to evacuate the mall.”
Police say the evacuation affected several hundred people.
“Many staff members fled without their car keys and were unable to leave the area," Hertman said.
He added that officers worked to assist those forced outside during the evacuation.
“Some of the young people were outside the mall without jackets on,” Hertman said. “We did our best to accommodate them.”
Sprinklers activated inside the store, sending water to lower levels of the mall and impacting nearby businesses.
“The anchor stores remained open, but all of the other stores shut down,” Hertman said.
Police say there was smoke damage and property damage, but no one was hurt.
Cleanup and inspections are continuing as impacted stores assess damage and plan next steps.
