Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

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A lithium-ion battery fire may have triggered sprinklers in a building that completely drenched a tailor shop on Liberty Street in Newburgh. Blanca Sotelo is telling customers of Blanca's Tailoring through online posts and a sign on her door about the shop's setback. There was a fire in an apartment two floors above the shop at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The water from the automatic sprinkler system broke through the ceiling and flooded the shop. Sotelo protected most of the clothes and equipment. "I took out one of my machines to keep working. We should be fine," Sotelo said. "My art is just my hands and my head, so I'm OK. We're going to be OK." The building owner said a lithium ion battery for a gaming system started the fire. Residents of three apartments were displaced. No people – nor the shop cat, "Oreo," were hurt. Several customers who were not yet aware of the damage showed up Friday morning to pick up or drop off clothes. Irma Garcia was excited to ask Sotelo to do a special job for her. "That's why I came here," she said. "I was hoping she could do my granddaughter's Sweet 16 dress." Customers and nearby business owners were dropping by all day Friday asking how they could help. The owner of the boutique next door even offered up her shop as a work space. "I do everything myself," Sotelo said. "The fitting, the sewing, dealing with the customers, everything. We're a small business, but [have a] big heart." Sotelo said she plans to finish some of her outstanding orders at home before opening a temporary location for a few months. Then she plans to return to her space on Liberty Street. "