fire

Ay Caramba!

"The fajitas activated the smoke alarm" at Salsa & Curry says a dispatcher, who called for city fire to respond.

"Smoke from fajitas confirmed," says a firefighter, putting the assignment back in service.

The entree --  a spicy combo of onions, peppers and meat -- is popular, brought to your table on a sizzling hot plate with fresh tortillas.

So this is a not an uncommon occurance at the location, as was the case when it was Margarita's restaurant.

And tommorrow is Cinco de Mayo...

The call went out to City of Batavia Fire Department for a trash can fire at the car wash on Pearl Street. I was in the neighborhood, so I got there right after Engine 11. 

The fire was actually a smoldering cigarette in a small trash container in the vacuum area.

Not much to it, but I was there, so here's a picture.

City firefighters are responding to a reported barbeque grill on fire in the back yard at 52 Ellicott Ave.

UPDATE 5:34 p.m.: The problem was a wire that shorted out on a gas grill. Fire is out. City fire is back in quarters.

A construction accident at 6612 Tufts Road, Pavilion, has caused an electrical wire to come down, which has sparked a small grass fire.

Pavilion fire is responding.

National Grid is also in route.

A dryer fire is reported in a laundromat at 1 Corfu Plaza, Corfu.

A chief on scene reports flames showing from a dryer.

Corfu Fire with mutual aid from Pembroke, East Pembroke and Darien dispatched along with the City's Fast Team.

The City is requesting the Fourth Platoon to headquarters.

UPDATE: A first responder reports the fire is knocked down.

UPDATE 9:07 a.m.: City of Batavia can stand down.

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A controlled burn is now out of control, causing a grass fire at 7257 Beaver Meadow Road. Byron and South Byron firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 11:54 a.m.: A responder on scene says the blaze is down at the end of the driveway, at the rear of the property, by the house.

UPDATE 11:56 a.m.: A brush truck is there and all other units are told to come in non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 12:28 p.m.: Fire is out. All Byron and South Byron responders returning to quarters and in service.

A shed fire, possibly started by a controlled burn, is reported at 6492 Main Road. Stafford Fire Department is responding. Open burning is prohibited under state law at this time of year.

UPDATE 3:49 p.m.: Fire is out. Stafford is back in service.

A grass fire is reported off Route 490, westbound, near mile marker 2.7. Bergen firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: A grass truck from Le Roy, mutual aid, is called.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: The fire is out. Le Roy's response is cancelled.

UPDATE 1:50 p.m.: Bergen is back in service.

A fully involved truck fire next to a building is reported at 2369 Killian Road. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding. The location is on the corner of Killian and Pratt roads. The engine compartment is engulfed in flames, according to a person on scene.

A structure fire is reported 735 Genesee St., Corfu.

Corfu fire along with Pembroke, East Pembroke, Darien and the City's Fast Team all dispatched.

Firefighters on scene say people are still in the house and they're trying to get them out. The fire is at the back of the structure, possibily on a porch.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: The City's Fast Team is cancelled.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: The fire is knocked down. Crittendon and Akron were also called, but now are cancelled.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: Corfu returning to quarters.

A chief is on scene in Pembroke of what was initially reported as a grass fire off the Thruway but now appears to be a motor vehicle accident where the car caught fire.

The car was pretty far along burning by the time it was found.

No indication at this point that there is any victims in the area.

The location -- I think on Stage Road -- is actually in Newstead's district. Newstead is being dispatched.

It's possible the location is in Erie County.

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: Nobody is in the car.

UPDATE 10:55 p.m.: Fire is out. Scene has been turned over to Erie County Sheriff. Pembroke not yet back in service. 

City fire is being dispatched to Pizza Hut, 412 E. Main St., Batavia, for an "unknown type fire on the ground."

It might be a mulch or hedge fire next to the building.

UPDATE 8:33  a.m.: Engine 11 on scene. Nothing showing. Investigating.

UPDATE 8:37 a.m.: Somebody was burning some weeds off using gasoline. City fire is back in service.

Le Roy Fire Department is responding to a report of smoke filling an apartment on Lake Street. A firefighter on scene reports nothing showing outside, but confirms smoke is inside. Bergen is also called to provide mutual aid. A woman said she returned home to find her son's bedroom filled with smoke. The building is being evacuated. Pavilion is also called. The address is 33 Lake St., apt. A.

School and Bacon are the crossroads. Le Roy medics are also called to the scene.

UPDATE 2:54 p.m.: Fire in the room is confirmed. They are shutting down the Route 5 and 19 intersection. Fire police are called.

UPDATE 2:57 p.m.: Fire command reports it's not clear where the fire is coming from. An engine from Stafford is called in. Mill Street is shut down.

UPDATE 3:02 p.m.: Caledonia is asked to stand by in their fire hall. A check of an upstairs apartment found no fire. They are checking the basement.

UPDATE 3:06 p.m.: National Grid is contacted.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: The source of the fire has been found and they are extinguishing it.

UPDATE 3:21 p.m.: The fire is out. They are overhauling the scene. Caledonia is released. Stafford will stand by in Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 4:04 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

Late Wednesday night, a firefighter gave Dr. David Paul a tour of his home at 33 Ross St., Batavia, so he could survey the damage.

A fire that had started in the basement and wormed its way up to the top level of the house leading to extensive fire, smoke and water damage.

But the good news is that the structure largely remains intact.

"I'm glad I have good insurance," Paul said.

Paul purchased the stately home some 30 yeas ago, restored it and in the late 1980s, the house won a Landmark Society award.

"I was at my office in Buffalo and my daughter called me as said the house is on fire," Paul said. "I shot right back here. By the time I got here, the fire department and outlying departments were here and taking care of it. I didn't see any flames, but it was really smoking and they were actively working on it."

Along with City fire, departments from Elba, Alexander and the Town of Batavia rushed to the scene.

A quick response by all concerned helped save the house.

The fire appears to have started in the basement, though Chief Jim Maxwell said the fire is still under investigation and no cause has yet been determined.

The house was built in 1902 and used balloon construction, meaning the exterior walls are open from basement to ceiling, making it easy for flames to jump from floor to floor.

Typically, balloon construction homes become fully engulfed rather quickly, but firefighters were able to contain the fire and then work on isolating hot spots on the upper floors.

"I think they did an excellent job," Paul said. "They were here right away. They were considerate. It's a mess inside, but they seemed to control what they needed to do."

The fire was reported at 4:19 p.m. as smoke coming from the basement. By the time the first firefighters were on scene, flames were shooting out of two basement windows.

"We had a good interior attack by everyone involved here," Chief Maxwell said.

Genesee County Emergency Management and Darien fire also assisted at the scene.

Dr. Paul noted that usually he's the one donating to the Red Cross. Tonight he was grateful for a cup of coffee from the agency.

Maxwell said it will take some time to determine the cause of the fire because of the heavy damage to the basement. He noted there were reports of lightning strikes in the area prior to the fire being reported.

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A possible structure fire is reported at 33 Ross St. in the city. The fourth platoon is called into headquarters and city firefighters are on scene. National Grid is called.

UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: The fourth platoon is now called to the scene along with the second platoon.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: This is a working structure fire. Occupants are out of the house.

UPDATE 4:31 p.m.: The Town of Batavia Fire Department is placed on standby. You can smell the smoke Downtown.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m.: Elba Rescue and Alexander's Fast Team are called to provide mutual aid and the city's third platoon is requested as well. Firefighters are still trying to gain access to the basement, which is where the blaze began.

UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: Ross at Main Street will be completely shut down to traffic.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: Flames are showing at the north side of the basement.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: Two Mercy ambulances are called to stage at the scene. Entry has been made to the basement.

UPDATE 4:52 p.m.: National Grid has shut off power at the house. Ladders will be employed on all four sides of the house.

UPDATE 4:59 p.m.: Howard, who is at the scene, said the commander reports they "are starting to get a handle" on the fire.

UPDATE 5:12 p.m.: The fire is out in the basement.

UPDATE 5:29 p.m.: Now the basement is clear, too.

UPDATE 5:32 p.m.: The house is owned by Dr. David Paul. It is a historic structure and previously received an award from the Genesee County Landmark Society.

UPDATE 6:05 p.m.: There's only a small amount of smoke coming from the house at this point. Firefighters are going to use hand tools to open up the attic. A company is called to board up the house.

UPDATE 6:10 p.m.: Command reports the fire is under control.

UPDATE 6:36 p.m.: Darien fire's Cascade System is requested. This is portable equipment used to refill backpack oxygen air canisters.

UPDATE 8:39 p.m.: City Ladder 15 and Engine 11 are returning to quarters. Mutual aid responders have gone back into service with the exception of Town of Batavia's standby unit, which will be released momentarily when the city's crews return to the fire hall. City Engine 12 will remain on scene to finish up the detail.

A grass fire is reported at 10119 Pavilion Center Road. Pavilion Fire Department is responding non-emergency. The location is between Stubb and Junction roads. There is a small structure nearby, but the fire chief on scene says it's not in danger at this time.

UPDATE 3:38 p.m.: The fire is out. Pavilion is back in service.

Mention "bunk fire" to a volunteer firefighter, and you might get an eye roll.

Nearly every firefighter we spoke to at the scene of the fire on the Schumacher Farm in Pavilion today said when they heard "bunk fire" from the fire dispatcher, they knew there were in for a lot of work.

"They tend to be a drawn out affair," said Pavilion Chief Paul Dougherty. "The material is highly compacted. In fact, when they put it in the silo they go to great measures to compact it to keep the oxygen out. It's a smoldering type of fire that you've got to break apart until you've got it extinguished."

The fire was reported at 2:15 p.m. and Pavilion Fire was on scene until about 6 p.m.

It took thousands of gallons of water to deal with the fire and with no public water in the area, tankers were called in from Batavia, Le Roy, Alexander, Bergen, Stafford, Caledonia, and Bethany, as well as Le Roy's ladder truck.

The fire appears to have spread from a burn pile on the southwest corner of the feed bunk (a bunker used to store cattle feed) and up the feed pile and into bales of hay stored at the top of the bunker.

Crews had to battle the fire in the bunker and clear a safe path to the back in Le Roy's ladder truck in order to put out the hay fire.

Because of winds, hot spots spread into the adjacent fields.

"The wind this particular day is certainly not in our favor," Dougherty said. "It is feeding the smoldering material and also carrying embers out into the surrounding fields, which are at this point in the year wet and difficult to get into to put out any burning materials."

The Schumacher Farm straddles the Genesee County-Wyoming County line and the feed bunk is in Genesee County, while the main structures of the farm are in Wyoming County. No structures were threatened by the fire, being down wind from the feed bunk.

Tankers shuttled water into the fire, but the time between truck fulls of water was such that the ladder truck had to periodically stop shooting water on the burning material.

For this type of fire, the flow of water, however, wasn't critical. At one point, in fact, firefighters took a break for refreshments and rest since the fire was well contained and not going anywhere.

"The one difference between this type of fire and structure or house fire is that with a structure or house, getting water is a bigger problem," Dougherty said. "Here we've got time to get water set up. The fire is not really going anywhere. We're not going to get behind it."

If the fire was started by a controlled burn, there are exemptions for agriculture during the no-burn season. Also, Dougherty noted, the fire could have been set days ago and only became a problem after the wind kicked up today.

Also assisting at the scene were Mercy EMS (on standby) and the Salvation Army.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

A house fire is reported in the Village of Attica at 34 Meadow Lane. Alexander and Darien fire departments are called to provide mutual aid.

A kitchen fire is reported at the New York State Veterans Home located at 220 Richmond Ave. City of Batavia fire is responding. It's in the Ontario Cottage.

UPDATE 2:26 p.m.: The fire is out.

A fire is reported at 6471 Hudson Road in the Town of Pavilion. No structures are involved -- it's a livestock feed bunk. Pavilion, Le Roy and Stafford fire departments are responding. "We've got heavy, heavy black smoke in the air."

UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: Tankers from York and Bethany are also called to the scene. A wind advisory for parts of Western New York, including Genesee County, is in effect until 6 p.m. Winds are expected to average 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph. which, of course, makes fires more difficult to fight.

UPDATE 2:29 p.m.: Fire police will be deployed at Route 19 to stop westbound traffic onto Hudson Road so tankers can draw water from a pond near that juncture. Perry Center's tankers, if available, are summoned.

UPDATE 2:33 p.m.: Mutual aid from Alexander, Town of Batavia and Bergen are called in.

UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: Caledonia is called to the scene and also to stand by in Pavilion's quarters.

UPDATE 2:37 p.m.: Brockport and Mumford are enlisted.

UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: Pavilion Fire command says "The fire's contained, but we've got to get up here and put these hay bales out. I'm not sure the ladder's going to reach that far." Wyoming #2 is called, Perry Center is cancelled.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: They want to get a backhoe in there to bust up the hay bales. "They're going pretty good." There's a big heap of corn cobs to deal with, too.

UPDATE 2:51 p.m.: Mercy medics are responding in case they are needed.

UPDATE 2:57 p.m.: The Pavilion Auxiliary and/or Salvation Army is going to bring refreshments. Attica Rescue is called to fill air bottles.

UPDATE 3:25 p.m.: The fire is pretty much knocked down. No hands lines are in use at this point. Alexander is released from the scene and others will be soon.