A possible structure fire is reported in an abandoned white building on West Main Street Road at Kelsey Road, Batavia.
There is smoke coming from the roof and through a window.
East Pembroke fire and Town of Batavia fire dispatched.
The fire is going to a second alarm.
UPDATE 10:19 a.m.: It's a BBQ. Town of Batavia response canceled; second alarm canceled.
A porch fire is reported at 41 Farnsworth Ave. in Oakfield. Oakfield and Town of Batavia fire departments are dispatched.
A tractor may have caught on fire between two barns, causing a barn fire at 8427 Gully Road, Le Roy.
Le Roy fire responding.
Pavilion and Stafford also dispatched. The city's Fast Team also dispatched.
UPDATE 9:34 p.m.: Units are being put back in service.
A house fire is reported at 54 Hutchins St. Everybody is out of the house, according to a dispatcher. City firefighters are responding.
UPDATE 7:35 a.m.: Fire under control; checking for extensions.
Photos submitted by Frank Capuano.
A possible house fire is reported at 7785 Lake Road in Le Roy. The caller reports there was a small fire outside, on the side of the house, that is believed to be now out, but there is still visible smoke. Le Roy Fire Department is responding, along with mutual aid from Bergen fire.
UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: Chief on scene confirms fire inside the structure. Pavilion and Churchville fire departments are called to assist.
UPDATE 7:58 p.m.: Le Roy Engine #66 is returning to service.
(Submitted photos.)
Flames and smoke are reportedly showing from the front of a house at 4 Gibson St. Oakfield Fire Department is responding. It is said to have started in the garage and now involves the house, which has been evacuated.
UPDATE 4:46 a.m.: Chief on scene reports the fire is knocked down; checking for extensions. The location is between Maple and Bennett avenues.
UPDATE 4:54 a.m.: Alabama is asked to fill in at Oakfield's fire hall.
UPDATE 5:07 a.m.: Alabama is now at the scene, instead of on standby. Town of Batavia Fire Department is asked to provide interior firefighters to the scene.
UPDATE 5:09 a.m.: Elba is asked to fill in at Oakfield's fire hall.
UPDATE 10:08 a.m. (provided by WBTA): Oakfield command said four adults and two children got out of the house safely. The structure was heavily damaged as a result of the fire.
City fire is dispatched to Maple Street near Thorpe for a tree stump on fire in a yard.
A barn fire is reported at Area 51 Motocross, 3323 Harloff Road, Batavia.
Smoke is showing.
East Pembroke fire and Batavia fire dispatched.
UPDATE 4:08 p.m. Tankers requested from Alabama, Oakfield and Pembroke.
UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Fire is out, checking for extensions.
A fire alarm has been tripped in the incinerator room of the Batavia Barracks of the New York State Police.
Town of Batavia Fire responding.
The location is 2525 West Saile Drive, Batavia.
UPDATE 11:43 a.m.: Chief on scene reports the building is evacuated.
UPDATE 11:46 a.m.: Fire was in a paper shredder. It was contained to the shredder and is out. They're clearing smoke from the building.
Smoke is reported in the residence at 6259 Shepard Road, with a cross of Transit Road, Pavilion, after a possible lightning strike.
Pavilion fire and Le Roy's ladder truck are dispatched.
UPDATE 9:11 a.m.: This is now a possible structure fire with a second alarm. Requested to the scene are Bethany's tanker, an engine from Le Roy and a tanker from Stafford, with an engine to fill in at Pavilion's Fire Hall. Le Roy's ambulance also requested to the scene.
UPDATE 9:14 a.m.: Perry Center, Perry, Wyoming and York also requested to the scene.
UPDATE(S) 9:23 a.m. (By Billie): This is now a working structure fire. The city's FAST team is called to the scene.
UPDATE 9:27 a.m.: The second platoon is requested to the city's fire headquarters.
UPDATE 9:29 a.m.: The homeowner is there and is an electrician employed by a power company and he already shut down power to the house so a response to the scene by National Grid will not be necessary, according to the scene commander.
UPDATE 9:34 a.m.: One engine from Bethany is called to stage in Texaco Town.
UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: Caledonia, which was just called to fill in at Le Roy's fire hall, is called to the scene along with Bethany. Bergen is called to fill in for Le Roy.
UPDATE 9:48 a.m.: Alexander's FAST team is called to the scene.
UPDATE 9:49 a.m.: Churchville is called to fill in at Bergen Le Roy; Elba is asked to fill in at Stafford. A second Alexander engine is called to the scene.
UPDATE 10:43 a.m.: The fire is under control. Command is starting to release some of the responding units.
A brush fire reported along the Thruway in the area of mile marker 390, on the eastbound side.
Dispatchers say they've received numerous calls with size estimates ranging from two feet by two feet up to 20 feet wide.
East Pembroke fire is responding.
UPDATE 10:17 a.m.: A retired trooper who lives in the area has told dispatchers that the only thing he is seeing is a large tractor kicking up dust.
UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: A chief on scene says there was a small fire, but it's out. Somebody put it out with a fire extinguisher.
An autopsy conducted this morning on the twin 2-year-olds who died last night in a fire at 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, indicate the boys died of smoke inhalation.
The Sheriff's Office also announced investigators believe the children were home alone at the time.
Last night witnesses, including the landlord, said the mother is believed to have left the house to go to the store for milk.
The boys are identified as Michael J. Gard and Micah G. Gard. The name of the mother has not been released.
The fire was reported at 9:59 p.m. when a resident of the upstairs apartment returned home and saw smoke and flames coming from the rear of the structure.
The boys were in a first-floor bedroom at the back of the house.
The Sheriff's Office said deputies were the first on scene but were unable to enter the structure because of heat and flames.
Firefighters arrived soon afternoon, knocked back the fire quickly, and located the boys, who were already deceased.
The cause of the fire has not been determined and the investigation is ongoing.
The investigation is being conducted by the Office of Emergency Management, Town of Batavia Fire Department and the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office reports that more information will be released as it becomes available.
Previously:
Richard Frazier places a cross with a bear and flowers next to a tree outside 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, where two little boys died in a fire last night.
Frazier, who has a 4-year-old daughter himself, doesn't know the family but said he was heartbroken by the tragedy.
"As a parent, I could not imagine what it would be like if something like this happened to my child," Frazier said. "It's just insane to think that we just live life every day, taking life for granted and at any point, it can all be done."
Investigators were on scene last night until nearly 4 a.m. and then went home to get some much-needed rest and to be able to return in the daylight. They started arriving again about noon. It will likely be several hours before their work is complete. Until this phase of the investigation is done, we're not likely to hear more about the potential cause of the fire and other circumstances surrounding last night's events.
The names of the children or mother have not yet been officially released.
UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: Investigators have less than an hours work to do, but sources on scene say it is unlikely there will be any announcement today about the cause. There is more work to do away from the scene and that could take a couple of days. There should be a press release coming out this afternoon from the Sheriff's Office that will contain names.
UPDATE: Press release from the American Red Cross:
Volunteers from the American Red Cross responded to a fire on State Street Road in Batavia early Saturday morning, providing immediate emergency assistance for two adults and two children. Red Cross assistance typically includes vouchers for temporary housing, food and clothing as needed, and Disaster Mental Health volunteers are available to help with the emotional aspect of disaster. Those affected will meet with caseworkers in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan.
Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers Suzanne Kowalcyk and James McMoil responded to the scene of this fire. The Red Cross would like to express its sympathies to everyone affected by this tragedy.
Two young children died in a house fire at 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, late Friday night, at a time when their mother was not home.
It's unclear if any adults were in the apartment at the time of the fire, said Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster, Sheriff's Office, which is leading the investigation into the fire.
The cause has yet to be determined, but it started in the bottom apartment in the back of the residence.
The bodies of the children, both age 2, were found in that same location.
Brewster said he couldn't say for sure if the mother left the children with an adult to supervise them, or if she left them alone while she went to the store.
"I don't know and we're going to get to the bottom of that," Brewster said. "That's why we're going to talk with the mother."
The mother was in no condition to be interviewed tonight, Brewster said.
The fire was reported just before 10 p.m. when the upstairs resident returned home and spotted the fire. He called 9-1-1.
Town of Batavia arrived on scene quickly and fire chiefs were told there was a possibility of people trapped in the residence, so Deputy Chief Dan Coffey said he quickly sounded a second alarm.
The back of the house was fully involved at that point. The first firefighters on scene made entry and located the deceased children.
Asked if the evidence was pointing toward a fire deliberately set or accidental, Brewster said investigators are leaning toward accidental.
"That's why we have fire service here, to investigate that," Brewster said. "Right now, I'm not sure. It doesn't look like anything other than that -- accidental -- that's why they are here and that's what their job is. They will go through and make a thorough investigation."
About 10 minutes after firefighters arrived on the scene, two women ran up to the house and had to be restrained as they tried to enter it. Over the course of the next half hour, more people arrived who seemed to be friends or family members and there were women wailing and yelling. Troopers, deputies and Batavia PD officers did their best to assist them.
The two apartments were occupied by members of the same family, and members of that family also lived in a neighboring house. At one point, neighbors thought three children died in the fire, but that third child was in the neighboring house, according to landlord Joe Burke.
"It's my understanding that the mother went out to get milk for her little kids," Burke said.
Yellow tape was put around the scene at one point during the night and criminal investigators were called in once the fire was out and entry was safe for them.
But both Coffey and Brewster said the appearance of a criminal investigation doesn't necessarily mean a crime is suspected.
"It's a crime scene until proven otherwise," Coffey said, who besides being a volunteer firefighter is a Batavia police officer. "Obviously, we have two fatalities, so we're erring on the side of cause. We're treating it as a crime until proven different, but that's not indicative of any sort of information that we know at this point. It is how we would normally handle a call like this."
The location is the same as a reported hit-and-run accident April 1 in which resident Brian Ace suffered injuries and had to be taken by Mercy Flight to an area hospital. Ace declined to press charges in that case.
Investigators, at this point, don't seem to believe there is any connection between that incident and the fire.
There were no fatal fires in the Town of Batavia Fire District from 2008 until this year. This is the second fatal fire for Town volunteers in less than a month. On April 30, a fire at a residence on Oak Orchard Road claimed the life of Roger Saile, age 90.
"Obviously, it's been a tough stretch for us," Coffey said. "This one, obviously, is going to hurt. Just two weeks ago, three weeks ago, we also had that other one, so we're going ot make sure that we take care of our members, but it's going to be a difficult time for us."
City fire has been dispatched to 208 South Swan St., Batavia, for a reported bonfire in the parking lot.
A porch fire is reported at 62 W. Main St., Le Roy.
A chief reports smoke showing.
Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched, along with Bergen's ladder truck.
UPDATE 4:35 p.m.: This turned out to be a mulch fire.
A tree fire is reported in the area of 621 E. Main St., Batavia.
City fire is dispatched.
Le Roy fire is called to a report of a utility pole fire on Lake Street Road at Selden Road.
A chief on scene reports the pole is on fire.
UPDATE 10:22 a.m.: Fire is out.
A small house, and the woods around it, are reportedly on fire in Alabama at 6985 Meadville Road. Alabama Fire Department is responding along with mutual aid from Pembroke and Indian Falls.
UPDATE 5:29 p.m.: Fire command requests law enforcement to the scene. Five gasoline containers and 40 paint cans are said to be on the property.
UPDATE 5:42 p.m.: "We've got it knocked down pretty good," reports command, noting smoke is visible "over the hill." Corfu is also responding, along with Akron.
UPDATE 5:53 p.m.: The fire is mostly knocked down but smoke is still pouring from a crawl space over the rear wall, which is proving hard to access.
UPDATE 7:12 p.m.: National Grid requested to the scene.
Roger Saile, 90, the lone occupant of a residence at 8056 Oak Orchard Road, died as a result of a fire in his house this morning.
The fire was reported by a truck driver passing by the residence at about 5:25 a.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by State Police, Town of Batavia fire and Genesee County Emergency Services.
Firefighters from the town arrived on scene quickly after the fire was reported.
"We had a quick arrival and an initial attack of two engines, a ladder and a rescue," said Assistant Chief Dan Coffey. "We were able to get in their and get a good initial attack and search going."
Saile was deceased when he was found inside the residence.
After the fire was out, during what firefighters call "overhaul," one volunteer firefighter was under a ceiling when it collapsed. The firefighter was not seriously injured and was transported to UMMC for evaluation.
Crews were on scene from Town of Batavia, Elba, Oakfield, Stafford and the City of Batavia.
A neighbor described Saile as "a good man."
Michelle Gerold said sons Christian and Daniel would visit with him, and when he passed by their house he would toot his horn and wave and they often ran into him at one of his favorite restaurants, Sport of Kings.
He was always full of stories about his life.
"We would hear about the old days when we would see him out at a restaurant," she said. "He was overall such a nice man. We're so sad. His stories of his house, his stories of his life and how it used to be when he was growing up on a farm; he would tell us about his old vehicles. His stories just made us know he was a good person, a good individual. I loved him, my sons loved him, my husband loved him. It just breaks our hearts that he's gone now."
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