Green Acres Mall back open after electrical fire

Valley Stream firefighters battled an electrical blaze in a truck tunnel at the Green Acres Mall on Feb. 14.

Courtesy Brian Grogan

The Green Acres Mall was closed Friday morning following an electrical fire in the basement. The building re-opened at noon, though some stores on the east end remained closed.

Valley Stream firefighters responded to the mall shortly before 8 a.m. after smoke alarms in a truck tunnel under Kohl’s and Macy’s East went off. About 75 firefighters responded, and assistance was provided by Hewlett and Elmont.

According to John Beck, chief of the Valley Stream Fire Department, the fire was in an electrical vault. One of the four main electrical lines into the building caught fire. Beck said they had to wait for PSEG to shut power down to the mall before firefighters could extinguish the blaze.

The fire department was on scene for about two hours. The fire created high levels of carbon monoxide in the east end of the mall, so firefighters had to vent the building. No injuries were reported and there was no fire damage to the mall itself.

Beck said the fire was not suspicious, and was likely the result of an electrical malfunction.

The Franklin Square, Malverne and Woodmere fire departments provided standby coverage for Valley Stream.

More stores were up and running by Friday afternoon, though some were not able to open because power in some areas was turned off.