fire

A house fire was reported at about 7:40 p.m. in the Village of Oakfield. It's a one-alarm fire so far at 12 Maple Ave. with one unit now on location. No other information yet available.

UPDATE (7:05): A City of Batavia fire truck and an ambulance have been asked to stand by.

UPDATE (7:06): Reported that power to house has been cut off.

UPDATE (7:08): Upstairs of house has been declared all clear.

UPDATE (7:16): Firefighters working to get into the attic. The smoke in there is getting thick.

UPDATE (7:23) Flames out and smoke cleared.

UPDATE: (7:26) Salvage crew requested for mop up.

UPDATE (7:28): Throughout this operation, no injuries or occupants noted. There's a call out to get all names of family members.

UPDATE Friday 8:10 a.m. (by Howard): The Sheriff's Office has released information on the fire. Investigators believe the cause of the fire was electrical.  The home owner Alicia Fitzsimmons placed the initial 9-1-1 call, reporting a fire in a bedroom.  When Oakfield firefighters arrived, they found flames coming out of the front door and front downstairs bedroom.  Fire departments from Alabama, Elba, East Pembroke and the town and city of Batavia assisted. The fire was investigated by Deputy Tim Wescott and Deputy Patrick Reeves. The house is believed to be a total loss.

The engine of a tractor in a field near Mullen Road and Morganville Road in Stafford is reportedly on fire.

Crews from the Stafford Fire Department are responding, though the first responder is reporting the fire is out.

UPDATE: All equipment now being held in hall. Fire is out.

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The fire wasn't serious, but a good fire alarm system and regular fire drills certainly demonstrated this morning in Darien how a good fire plan can save lives and protect property.

The 5:30 a.m. fire started in the bedroom of Jeremy Rademacker when a halogen lamp was accidentally kicked to the floor and left on.

The fire alarm in Jeremy's room sounded, but because the alarm is wired into a house-wide alert system, both his father and sister were awakened by the alarm. All three people exited the house safely, with Mr. Rademacker closing the door to the bedroom on the way out, and they met at a pre-designated spot.

The fire caused $10,000 to $15,000 in damage.

WBTA interviewed Genesee County Emergency Manager Coordinator Tim Yeager who credited the family with smart smoke detector installation and prior planning with averting disaster.

The Town of Batavia Fire Department is being dispatched to a reported fire the area of South Main Street Road and Wortendyke Road.

Dispatchers are recommending special equipment because the fire is reportedly deep in the woods in a logging area.

UPDATE:  So, I drove out to South Main Street Road and Wortendyke Road. Nothing to see here.  The fire is reportedly pretty deep in the woods. There's no command center or other fire equipment on the public road, nor is the fire visible, nor is there an odor of fire from the road. Moving on.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: I found the general location of the fire.  It was a long way off from Wortendyke. I spoke with two Town of Batavia firefighters. A logging skinner skidder, a piece of heavy equipment for hauling logs, caught on fire. The machine is a total loss, they said.  Crews are currently making sure the fire is out.

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Jeanne Stack submitted this photo of a car on fire on the Thruway on Sunday at about 2 p.m. Stack said the fire occurred near Pratt Road in the Town of Batavia. She said she doesn't know what happened, but that a trooper came over to her and asked if the car was hers.  We have no further information at this time.

An oven fire has been reported at 19 Hart St., Batavia. Fire engines are responding.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: Burnt food only.

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"Bear" is safe, much to the relief of Robert Zickl, the 11-year-old son of Asst. D.A. Will Zickl.

Young Robert was obviously distressed while firefighters were inside his home at 10 Woodcrest Drive, Batavia.  A paramedic said it was all she could do to keep him from from going into the house.

His father paced the driveway, running his fingers through his hair.

"As I came up, my very first thoughts were Robert, but then I saw him and his buddies over there (in the yard across the street), and I thought, 'that's good,'" Zickl said. "Soon it became an issue about Bear. He's very attached to his dog."

It didn't take long, though, for Bear to come running out of the front door and into the arms of Will Zickl.  Bystanders, including, I think, police, paramedics and firefighters, cheered when Bear came bounding out of the front door of the home.

Firefighters said the dog was hiding in a bedroom.

The fire probably started in the laundry room, according to Chief Ralph Hyde. He said the fire was contained to that area, but there is smoke damage throughout the house, and some water damage. Most of the water damage, he said, came from a water hose on the washer melting and spraying water.

The fire was spotted by a neighbor who alerted Zickl's brother Phil, who was in the back mowing the lawn. "You think that's a problem," the neighbor told Phil.

Phil immediately called 9-1-1 and then went to the house, not sure if Will's wife or his children were still inside.  He said he couldn't see in the house because of the smoke.  He touched the basement door and it was warm, so he stood aside as he opened it, and smoke came billowing out.

The fire was extinguished by city fire crews within 10 minutes of the initial 1 p.m. call.

All members of the Zickl household, including Bear, are safe and accounted for.

Top picture: Will Zickl with Bear. Bottom picture, Robert Zickl and Phil Zickl with Bear.

Fire units are responding to a report of a brush fire or mulch fire burning close to a garage at 142 Tracy Avenue, between Hart and North.

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: All units returning to station. Small mulch fire with minor extension into garage.

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A fully involved dumpster fire has been reported at 8351 Lewiston Road, Batavia.

Shortly after the initial call went out, a police officer on scene reported the fire was knocked down substantially using fire extinguishers, but flames were still present.
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City fire crews are responded to 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia, for a general fire alarm.

The fire alarm was activated. No word yet on whether there is an actual fire.

Crews are being called out to a reported mulch fire in front of M&T Bank, 54 Main St., Oakfield.

Tankers and crews are being dispatched as mutual aide to a house fire in the Town of Alden.

The fire is reported at 12773 Uebelhoer.

Manpower and equipment is being requested from Corfu, Darien and Pembroke.

UPDATE: A reader reports that it shoulds like two structures are on fire. He sends along a link where you can listen to Erie County fire dispatch online. iTunes is required.

UPATE II: Lucille notes in comments, WBKW reports that at least one person is dead at the fires.

UPDATE III: Beth Kinsley provides this link: Sibling dispute ends in suicide.

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Four volunteer fire departments from Genesee County helped battle a blaze that destroyed two barns in Akron yesterday about 2:20 p.m.

Responding where Alabama, East Pembroke, Darien and Corfu.

Both barns were completely destroyed, along with their contents, which included tools, equipment and a Dodge van, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

The fire was discovered by Olivia Swendsen as she was tending her goats. It's believe egg incubator lights ignited the blaze.

It's possible the barns and some of the content was not insured, according to the report.

Vic Marchese was at his popular Batavia restaurant early this morning washing dishes and waiting for a cleaning crew to arrive following last night's fire that caused an estimated $30,000 damage.

He expects to be open to serve customers by tomorrow, he said.

He won't be able to cook with charcoal immediately, since that's the vent system damaged by the fire, but the rest of the kitchen remains in good shape and ready to serve up pizza, pasta, wings, subs, salads and just about everything else on Vic's menu.

Marchese said he had been away from the restaurant most of the day and returned at 9 p.m. About three minutes later a lady came in and asked about all the smoke in the back parking lot. Vic said he went outside, saw the smoke and immediately called 911.

Fire crews were on scene within minutes. 

The fire was just beginning to poke out of the vent, Marchese said. The flames were doused quickly.

"Good thing," Marchese said. "These old buildings, the whole block could have gone up."

Last night we reported word of a fire at Main St. Pizza Company, 200 E. Main Street, Batavia, but information at the time made it sound relatively minor.

It turns out there the fire caused $30,000 in damage -- $25,000 to the structure and $5,000 to contents of the building, according a report released by the Batavia Fire Department late last night.

The fire was contained mostly to a exhaust duct at the rear of the building, with a "minor extension into the building."

The report states that owner Victor Marchese became aware of the fire when he smelled smoke. He immediately evacuated the customers and called 911.

When city fire crews arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from the duct and quickly dosed the fire with the use of chemical extinquishers and water hoses.

A reader sent an e-mail and said she heard an Main Street business in Batavia is on fire and Main Street is shut down.

I tried calling the dispatch center and the conversation went like this:

"I'm Howard Owens with The Batavian."

"I'm sorry, sir, we're really busy."

"I hear there is a fire on Main Street."

"I'm sorry, sir, we don't have time to talk."

Click.

I spoke to somebody at T.F. Brown's who said he heard something about a fire but didn't really know.

If you know anything, please fill us in.

Brian Hillabush is on his way to the scene, but won't be there for 40 minutes or so (he was out of town, too).

UPDATE:  Dan Jones went to the scene and confirmed there were fire trucks on the scene. The business that we had been tipped to was Main St. Pizza Company. I just called Main St. Pizza and it turned out to be a real minor fire. It was extinquished quickly and no real damage was done.

Just after midnight, the Le Roy fire department was called to a structure fire at 8484 E. Main St. Road where upon arrival they found the house fully engulfed, according to reader Gary Spencer.

Lorie Longhany also e-mailed reports of the fire.

Neighbors from across the streets dog barked, woke owner up, he crossed the street and alerted the homeowners.  The husband went back in after car keys and he was burned and taken to the hospital -- wife and daughter also taken in for smoke inhalation.  House is a total loss.

Longhany, who lives on Lime Rock, said units from Le Roy, Stafford, Caledonia, Bergen and Pavilion responded. Route 5 was closed and traffic was sent around York Road and Church Road.

Also from Lorie: 

The hero in this fire was a dog named Rocket that is no stranger to alerting danger.  A couple years back this dog was out of his yard and barking around our friends pool.  His owner was calling him to come home.  He wouldn't -- kept barking around the pool.  When his owner went to retrieve him, he found that in the pool was my neighbors and good friends dog, Buddy who would have drown.  Last night, from what my neighbors first hand account, Rocket's barking alerted his owners to the burning house across the street.  The neighbor saw the flames and ran across the street and woke up the homeowners.  That dog may have saved three lives last night.

That's all the information we have on the fire at this time.

UPDATE: Lorie sends along this note this morning:

We took a ride by this morning, and as I said, we kept away from the scene and stood in our friends driveway after being awoken to all the commotion, but it appears that the structure is heavily damaged, but not burned to the ground by any means.  The fire fighters did a tremendous job.  It is really amazing the organizational skills that these volunteers put into play as they are battling a fire.  We watched in amazement.  Probably a good many of them were there till the early hours and then had to get up and go to their paying jobs this morning.

Also, she "cautions" that her account of Rocket is third person, having been told by a neighbor who spoke with Rocket's owner.

UPDATE II: WBTA reports:

The home was occupied by 54-year-old Rita Teeter, her 54-year-old boyfriend Daniel Bovee and her 25-year-old daughter, Jennifer Coombs.

Rita and Jennifer were treated at Strong Hospital for smoke inhalation and released.

Bovee was admitted to the hospital in satisfactory condition with burns to his face, head and feet.

(Photo submitted by Stacey Smith)

A vacant bungalow at 28 Hutchins Place was heavily damaged in a late-night fire that had crews from the city and town of Batavia on scene for more than three hours.

The blaze apparently started in the rear porch area and quickly spread to the main structure. The home was "well involved" by the time fire crews arrived, according to a Batavia Fire Department release this morning.

The cause is under investigation.

The home was owned by Nathanial Williams.

No injuries were reported.

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More photos from Stacey Smith:

Approximately $30,000 in damage was caused to a home at 46 Otis Street in Batavia last night after a fire erupted in the cockloft area of the house.

The Batavia Fire Department reports that dispatchers received numerous calls around 9:42 p.m., including an initial call from a neighbor at the rear of the house on Hutchins Street.

Crews from the city and town were dispatched to the blaze. No injuries were reported.

Damage to the structure, which is owned by Rose Szczesny, was confined to the cockloft -- or attic-like area -- of the house. There was smoke and water damage to other portions of the house.