The eight-alarm fire broke out on Aug. 28 on the second floor of the warehouse about 10:45 p.m. and destroyed a large part of the building that serviced Gap Inc. and Banana Republic brands.
On Tuesday, Gap Inc. spokeswoman Debbie Felix said some employees returned to work on Monday in the companies' second 1.9 million-square-foot building, which houses Old Navy products and is next to the warehouse that was damaged. Additional employees returned to work on Tuesday, including some who were displaced from the fire in the 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse.
"As we continue to assess the full extent of the impact from the fire, we have been working diligently to restore operations in the building that was not significantly damaged," Felix said. "We will be able to resume some functions at the Fishkill campus this week and have begun to communicate our back-to-work plans with employees."
Most importantly, she added, is that all employees are safe and will continue to be paid until a new plan is developed.
"We want to make sure that people know how much we are committed to the Fishkill campus," she added.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which has federal jurisdiction over fires involving interstate commerce, has released the building back to the company but is still continuing its investigation into the cause of the fire, said Matthew Myerson, spokesman for the ATF.
"Our National Response Team has wrapped up their work, but we are not releasing any other statement at this time," Myerson said.
The scene of the fire was released back to the company about noon Monday, said Dana Smith, commissioner of Dutchess County Emergency Response.
"All the fire-investigating agencies have cleared the scene," he said. "The investigation is continuing, the cause and origin of the fire has yet to be determined. The New York State Police are the lead investigative agency for this incident."
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