One person died in a house fire this morning at 109 Evans St., Batavia.
The fire was reported at about 7:15 a.m.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke and flames at the rear of the house from the ground floor to the roof line.
Capt. Bob Fix described the situation as "untenable" and it wasn't possible for firefighters to enter the house until the fire was knocked back.
"We were dispatched to report of a building on fire just down the street from the fire station," Fix said. "As we pulled out of the station we could see heavy smoke in the sky so we knew we had a fire."
There were at least seven people in the residence at the time the fire was reported, including four adults who lived in the house. Residents told firefighters that one person was still in the house and provided firefighters with the person's location in the residence.
"We found heavy smoke and flames coming from the back side of the building as well as several people telling us the there was a victim inside a window," Fix said. "We attempted to make entry. Conditions were untenable at the time. We got some water on the fire there and tried to make entry again a short time later."
Once firefighters were able to make entry, they located the victim on the second floor and carried him out a window and down a ladder. He was placed on a stretcher and Mercy EMS personnel immediately began performing CPR.
While CPR was in progress, he was transferred to a nearby ambulance and transported to UMMC where he was later pronounced dead.
The victim's name has not yet been released.
"As it happened, the call came in right shift change and we had quite a bit more people available than we normally would have," Fix said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and Chief Stefano Napolitano said it's too early in the investigation to even speculate about the cause. The origin appears to be on the first floor.
State Fire, as is standard operating procedure, assist City Fire with the fire investigation.
The house is uninhabitable and The Salvation Army was contacted to assist the four adults who lived at 109 Evans.
Three pets, two dogs and a cat, were rescued from the fire.
Assisting City of Batavia was Town of Batavia fire, Alexander fire, and Darien fire.
Also assisting at the scene was Batavia PD.
