ORANGE — Town officials have set a goal to remove the expansive asbestos and brick pile at 16-36 West River St. before the new year. The debris was left in the wake of an arson at the former cereal factory, which was burned down by three juveniles on June 4, 2022. 

Town Administrator Matthew Fortier said American Environmental Inc. has “all but executed the contract to begin removal” and has produced a performance bond, a payment bond and a certificate of liability insurance. The Orange Selectboard voted unanimously in October to authorize Fortier to sign a contract with the company for $1.6 million to clean up the site. 

Fortier said he expects most of the work to be completed by the end of the year. He said loaming and seeding might need to be done next year, after ice and snow melts. 

“We do expect that the work will begin soon,” he said, adding that a traffic detour does not at this time seem to be necessary.

Selectboard member Jane Peirce, who chaired the board at the time of the fire, explained state Department of Environmental Protection officials were on scene as the inferno raged “and they have been monitoring very closely ever since to make sure that all the contaminants are contained on site and are not either dispersed by aerosol or through run-off.” She previously said that 20 fire departments responded to the devastating blaze.

Peirce said the brick pile and asbestos are covered with plastic and inspected and replaced by DEP employees periodically. She mentioned river runoff from the site does not cause any public health threat at this time.

Chris Stoddard, a professional engineer who conducts consulting work for the town, explained at a meeting in October that seven contractors submitted bids for the work. He said the bid is approximately $350,000 less than estimated, “so that’s exciting news.”

Multiple attempts to contact American Environmental owner Charlie Hughes have been unsuccessful.

The names of the three juvenile suspects — with ages ranging from 12 and 14 at the time – have not been released by authorities due to their age. The three faced criminal charges in connection with the crime.

The inferno sent embers into the air, with some landing on the vacant former blacksmith shop near 24 East River St. and causing such damage that it had to be demolished.

“It went up like a pile of sticks,” Peirce said a couple of years ago, adding that there also was a small brush fire behind the Fire Station at 18 Water St. and a few others throughout town. She said firefighters used municipal water and water from the Millers River, which runs next to the affected buildings.

“Thank goodness we have a river there,” Peirce said.

The vacant buildings at 58 and 50 South Main St. also sustained damage.

In March 2022, the town was forced to close the portion of West River Street from South Main to Pleasant streets because the former factory building was reportedly in imminent danger of structural failure. Orange was pursuing an emergency court order to tear down the building and had accepted a bid from Bourgeois Wrecking & Excavation of Westminster. That company handled the debris cleanup.

Gabriele Voelker, who was the town administrator at the time, explained it cost $73,500 to tear down the building.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.