fire

This locomotive fire this evening sounded pretty interesting, so I drove out to get some pictures. The place I found to park required me to hike through some brush. The idea of making the same trip back wasn't appealing, so I asked Stafford 2nd Asst. Chief Scott Kibler for a ride to my truck.

We weren't on the road 90 seconds when a call came in for a brush fire on Roanoke Road, so at that point, I was along for the ride, like it or not (I thought it was great to go out with Stafford on a call from beginning to end).

After the jump are pictures from both the train situation and the Roanoke brush fire.

Thanks to Chief Dave Rumsey for getting me back to my truck after the incidents ended.

Stafford Fire is en route to 9418 Roanoke Road, near Wescott Road, to a reported grass fire into the woods. Le Roy is also responding.

A call came in for a locomotive fire south of Griswold Road in Stafford. There is smoke visible. Shortly after that call another call came in for a grass fire near the railroad crossing at Beaver Meadow Road in Bergen.

The Stafford fire is apparently not accessible via Griswold Road and a chief is suggesting crews try to get to it from School Road.

South Byron is responding to the Beaver Meadow fire.

UPDATE: There is heavy smoke across Griswold Road and because of concerns about potential toxic fumes, Griswold is being close. CSX is in the process of shutting down other train traffic on the line.

UPDATE: There is reportedly 3,000 gallons of oil contained in the locomative. The oil has burned off at this point and an investigation is under way. There are also container cars for ethanol, but those are empty. Firefighters are notified that there's a westbound train going through Bergen.

UPDATE: There's a strong wind advisory in effect from the National Weather Service, with notice of thunderstorms possible. The thunderstorms are just now coming off Lake Erie.

UPDATE: There's still no word from the train service, CSX, about whether tracks are shut down. A rep is expected on scene within 45 minutes.

UPDATE: In Darien, there's a report of a rubbish fire. The Stafford fire is under control, but still being worked. Darien is also asked to fill in for Stafford.

UPDATE: The locomotive fire is determined to fueled by a combination electrical means and diesel fuel. Firefighters say they saw the fire well before they could reach it and by the time they got to it, the fuel had burned itself off. The fire scene can't be cleared until the railroad rep gets there, but dispatch is informed that due to a backlog of work, they won't be able to get someone there as soon as expected.

UPDATE: The railroad rep is on scene or en route to the scene. The railroad company has also requested a haz-mat team to the scene. The train is not expected to move for another three or four hours.

Although originally reported as a barn fire, the incident at 5633 Tower Hill Road in Byron is not a structure fire, according to the Byron chief.

Bryon units still responding. The ladder truck was canceled. Town of Batavia's Fast Team was canceled.

The chief requests DEC to respond to the scene.

UPDATE (4:42 p.m.): An ambulance has been requested to the scene.

UPDATE (4:47 p.m.): A tanker from Bergen and Elba are being requested to the scene of what is now said to be a rubbish fire.

UPDATE (4:12 p.m.): An engine from Bergen is requested to fill in at the Byron Fire Hall and a tanker from Stafford is requested to the scene of the fire.

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Alexander Fire is responding to another grass fire now. This one is at 10512 Brookville Road.

Units from the Silver Lake Road fire, which have doused the fire there, on en route to the latest blaze.

Alexander Fire Department is responding to a large brush fire in the woods off of Spring and Sandpit roads. A tanker is requested from Attica.

Two Bethany tankers which had been at the scene of a fire in Covington 20 minutes ago, are heading to Alexander now.

Darien Fire is filling in at Alexander Fire Hall.

Pavilion Fire is responding to a shed fire at 1252 Silver Lake Road in Covington, Wyoming County. The location is between Love Lake and Dodson roads.

A brush truck and engine from Wyoming County is requested. A full-manpower response is requested. The fire is reported to be about 50 feet from the house on the property.

A tanker is requested from Bethany and from Perry Center.

UPDATE (1:46 p.m.): The shed fire is contained and the firemen are working to put out the grass fire. Tankers en route are told to continue, non-emergency.

A large grass fire has been reported in the area of 545 Bloomingdale Road, on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation.

It is reportedly moving toward a structure.

Alabama Fire has been dispatched.

A large field is reportedly on fire in Texaco Town and Pavilion Fire Department is responding, as is Town of Batavia.

The location is Route 20 west of Route 63, or Route 63 south of Route 20, into Bethany's fire district.

The responders say the area is the same one wherein the property owner has been notified not to conduct open burning.

A possible brush fire has been reported in the area of Route 5 and Lovers Lane Road, near the Thruway overpass, Pembroke.

East Pembroke and Indian Falls fire have been dispatched.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: Address now given as 717 Route 5, across from Pembroke Bait and Tackle.

UPDATE 4:56 p.m.: Alabama is being dispatched for additional manpower. The Akron brush truck has been requested. The fire is reportedly not near a structure, but moving toward a structure.

At 230 Ellicott Street, there is a vacant lot, but it's more than just an unsightly gap between two commercial buildings. It also represents unfinished business.

Richard Borrell, owner of Borrell Fitness, right next door, figures the fire that destroyed Cristina's Restaurant on July 12, 2008, has cost or will cost him from $340,000 to $375,000.

So far, neither Charles Brumsted Jr., Cristina's owner, nor Brumsted's insurance company, Mid-State Mutual Insurance, have reimbursed Borrell for his losses.

Borrell said he's retained a lawyer out of Buffalo and said a lawsuit was filed last week on his behalf, but the suit is not on file with the Genesee County Clerk. The Batavian has called the law office of Eugene C. Tenney seven or eight times since last Thursday, where receptionists say Edward J. Schwendler, III, is handling the case, but Schwendler has returned none of the calls.

It's unclear if Brumsted -- we couldn't find contact information for him -- settled his claim against Mid-State.

An attorney for Brumsted, Charles Ritter, of Buffalo, filed a lawsuit May 18, 2009, against Mid-State, alleging that Mid-State had failed to honor the contractual terms of its insurance policy. Brumsted sought at least $1.5 million in damages, which included a $375,000 claim by Borrell.

In the filing, Brumsted claims that Mid-State representatives indicated he would have no trouble collecting on his insurance claim and that he would be able to reopen for business by Spring of 2008.

On Dec 3, 2009, Ritter and Mid-State's attorney, Joseph Rizzo, of Rochester, signed a "stipulation of discontinuance." The short document is ambiguous on whether this constituted a settlement of Brumsted's claims and contains no details on whether Brumsted received any payment from Mid-State. 

Neither Ritter nor Rizzo returned calls placed today.

Mid-State has also not returned a phone call seeking more information about Cristina's.

Borrell is unsure why Mid-State has not settled with him and preferred not to comment in detail about his legal situation. He said his building suffered extensive fire and water damage. The floors on the second floor are warped, the bricks and mortar on the outside of the building were heavily damaged, he suffered water damage to equipment and his HVAC system. 

The cause of the fire has never been determined. Captain Michael B. Drew of the City of Batavia Fire Department issued a report following a thorough investigation July 12, 2008.

While the investigation team was able to eliminate many accidental hazards, it was not able to eliminate all hazards, namely electrical wiring or equipment malfunction.

In addition, the investigation team was unable to eliminate the possibility that the fire cause may have been other than accidental and is therefore undetermined at this time.

Drew's report says the fire started in the area of the central stairway.

A possible accidental cause that was not ruled out was a malfunction in a electrical junction box on the east wall of the basement. Damage to the box, which included a hole burnt through the cover, could not have been done by an external fire source, Drew wrote.

At the same time, given the location of the box and the location of the fire origin, that junction box could not conclusively be ruled as causing the fire.

In interviews with investigators, Brumsted said he had electrical problems with a fan and was bringing an electrician to fix it. "Fire damage to this unit was noted to be inconclusive with its direct involvement in the fire's ignition," Drew wrote.

Brumsted said the building had been up for sale since 2001. He also said he was seeking a demolition permit for the restaurant portion of the building. 

In 2000, news reports said Brumsted was planning to convert the building into office space.

Cristina's was named after Brumsted's aunt, Cristina Meleca, who crafted some Italian recipes for the restaurant. Cristina Meleca died in 1995 at age 95. Brumsted purchased the restaurant from his uncle, Frank Meleca, in 1985.

A car is reportedly on fire in the eastbound lane of the Thruway around mile marker 388.

Town of Batavia fire is being dispatched.

The dispatch center has received multiple calls.

UPDATE 3:39 p.m.: A firefighter responding said the smoke can be seen from Bank Street. "It must be going pretty good," he said.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Fire crews are picking up and the Thruway is being reopened.

UPDATE 4:19 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire back in service.

Fire units from Genesee County are being dispatched to a structure fire in Wyoming County, or being put on standby at fire halls in both Wyoming and Genesee counties.

The fire is reported at 3930 E. Main Road, Attica, Wyoming County.

Pavillion, Darien, Bethany, Alexander and Town of Batavia, at least, have either been requested to the scene or are on standby.

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Jay Lynch, a former volunteer firefighter who now serves as the authorized photographer for fire services in Genesee and Livingston counties just supplied The Batavian with this collection of photos from this morning's fire at Hanson Aggregates in Pavilion.

More photos after the jump:

(Updated at 8:50 a.m.)

As many as 12 fire companies were called to Hanson Aggregates in Pavilion this morning for a fire in a structure at the back part of the facility.

The cause or origin of the fire has not been determined yet, according to Pavilion Fire Chief Paul Dougherty, who said the fire was contained to a single structure.

That structure was a sandblasting facility used to clean trucks and equipment.

"Our firefighters arrived and found the building at the rear of the facility with smoke and flames showing," Dougherty said.

The fire was difficult to fight, according to Dougherty, because it was a significant way from the road, past two driveways and there was a good deal of heavy equipment parked in the area.

"The big issue was getting water to the location because we couldn't get a lot of equipment back there," he said.

The original call came in sometime between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m.

"There was a lot of smoke," Dougherty said. "It's a wood-frame structure with metal siding. There wasn't a lot inside to burn and the fire was contained to the structure."

Hanson is a multinational conglomerate based in Europe. Its Pavilion facility provides asphalt and concrete for local construction projects.

There is no estimate yet on the dollar value of the damage and the cause is under investigation.

"Until we get into the building and interview some of their people and ask them what the recent history of the building has been, we won't know (the cause)," the chief said.

NOTE: Photos from the scene are limited because Hanson employees would not allow The Batavian back to the area of the fire to take pictures.

A fully involved car fire has been reported on Park Avenue near Judge Road in Oakfield.

Oakfield Fire is responding.

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Robert Griffin said he was leaving the Dollar General about 3:45 p.m. when he heard a pop and then smoke started billowing out from under the hood of his car.

City Fire responded and quickly doused the small fire.

A chimney fire, with fire outside the chimney, has been reported at 1840 Lewiston Road, Basom.

Alabama Fire has been dispatched. Oakfield is being asked to standby at the Alabama Fire Hall.

UPDATE 11:33 p.m.: A chief reports no flames showing.

UPDATE 12:18 am.: "Chimney clear. Fire out."

UPDATE 12:33 a.m.: All Alabama units back in service.

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A small, unattended grass fire has been reported in the area of 9754 Transit Road.

The call was initially sent to Stafford Fire, but the fire may actually be on the other side of the road, in Bethany's district, so Bethany Fire has been asked to respond as well.

UPDATE 2:53 p.m.: A chief on scene has confirmed it's Stafford district.

UPDATE 3:00 p.m.: Now they say it's in the Bethany district.

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