Teen Charged with Arson for Setting Gloversville, NY, Knitting Factory Fire
Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
(TNS)
May 1—GLOVERSVILLE — Police charged a 17-year-old from the city with arson and other felonies for setting a massive fire that destroyed a former glove and knitting factory and two other nearby structures, authorities said.
The teenager was taken into custody around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. He was arraigned in the youth part of Fulton County Court and released. Police are not releasing his identity because of his age.
Besides arson for allegedly starting the blaze Tuesday at the former Fownes factory at 102 South Main St., he also faces one count each of burglary, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment, all felonies.
"We have no reason to believe there are other suspects involved in this incident, and we are not seeking additional suspects at this time," Gloversville Police Capt. Brad Schaffer said Thursday morning.
Schaffer said the burglary offense is tied to the "unlawful entry into the factory" where the fire was initially ignited.
Schaffer said he was unable to say how the fire was started.
The suspect was identified in a tip from the public after the police department released two videos that showed a boy in an orange T-shirt riding a green neon-colored bicycle near the fire scene. Officials did not identify the person as a suspect, but said they were "requesting the public's assistance in identifying the individual."
Mayor Vince DeSantis, who earlier Thursday confirmed to the Times Union that an arrest had been made, lauded the police department for the arrest.
"It's the result of incredible police work, very fast police work ... It's due to video surveillance that they were able to recover, and also a large number of interviews, so I couldn't be prouder of our police department. It's amazing work," DeSantis said.
The historic glove factory was destroyed in an inferno that caused parts of the four-story structure to collapse. The fire also burned down two structures close by.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist the owner of one of them, Adirondack Exotics, a pet shop. Several animals, including frogs, spiders, and scorpions perished in the blaze. As of Thursday afternoon, the online crowd funding site has raised about $6,280 of a $10,000 goal.
The probe into the conflagration is being handled by the Gloversville fire and police departments and the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control. The Fulton County sheriff and district attorney's offices and the city of Johnstown police are also involved.
The building, constructed by the Fownes glove company in the early 1900s, held the distinction at the time of being the largest glove manufacturer in the world. Fownes Brothers and Co., founded in England in the 1700s, had its first U.S. factories in Gloversville and Amsterdam. Such factories, long since shuttered, gave "Gloversville" its name.
The fire was reported at 7 p.m. Tuesday and took firefighters hours to bring under control. There were no reported injuries to people.
© 2025 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) . Visit www.timesunion.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
