‘Smoke Condition’ Temporarily Shuts Down Oneonta Southside Mall

A downed power line on Franklin Mountain caused brown out conditions, which temporarily shut down the Southside Mall due to a "smoke condition" Tuesday afternoon in Oneonta.

Oneonta Fire Chief Patrick Pidgeon said his department received a call around 1:30 p.m. that smoke was entering into Office Max from heating and air conditioning systems on the roof. As a precaution, the mall was evacuated and emergency personnel responded to the call.

"There were no actual flames," Pidgeon said. "We found that we had some electrical issues on the roof. In talking with New York State Electric and Gas, they indicated that there had been a downed power line up on Franklin Mountain that had caused an electrical issue and some brown out conditions on Southside."

Power to several business and traffic lights in the area was lost, according to Pidgeon, creating long delays. Pidgeon said that power was fully restored and the mall was reopened around 3:30 p.m.