A barn fire in the Village of Attica at 69 High St. has closed down Route 98 between Dunbar Road and Route 354. Alexander, Bethany and Darien fire departments are responding.
UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: Town of Batavia also responding.
UPDATE 7:10 p.m.: According to the property owner Gene Reding, the barn was fully engulfed when he arrived home. The two horses that are normally housed in the barn were out in the field at the time and not injured. There was some equipment and hay for bedding inside. He says he has owned the property since 1975 and the barn was built in 1919.
Attica Fire Chief Bob Willard says the wood frame barn went up in flames in five minutes. It looks like the fire started in the basement and it could have been an electrical problem that caused it. It is a total loss.
Seven companies were called to the two-alarm blaze and no one was injured.
City firefighters were called at about 9:08 p.m. to 405 Garden Drive after a caller reported a loud noise followed by smoke in the familty room. It was thought to be a possible electircal fire. Upon arrival, firefighters found a small fire, extinguished it and ventilated the house. A city code enforcement officer was contacted and it is estimated that he will arrive on scene in the next 20 to 30 minutes.
Le Roy Fire Department is being dispatched to 78 Lake St. for a possible electrical fire in a second-floor apartment.
A Le Roy police officer is on scene with the building's owner who reports a circuit breaker has been tripped and there is an odor of burning plastic, but no smoke.
Bergen fire is requested to the scene non-emergency.
UPDATE 10:58 p.m.: Bergen can go back in service. Le Roy responding non-emergency.
UPDATE 11:05 p.m.: Negative results from thermal imaging cams. Some Le Roy units going back in service.
Wires are arcing, but not down, on a utility pole at 11230 Genesee St. in Alexander. There's also a fire in the center of the top of the pole. The location is near the county line. Alexander Fire Department is responding. The utility company has been notified. No ETA given.
UPDATE 4:01 p.m.: A responder on scene says the utility company should be advised that the pole is well off the roadway. It does not have a transformer on it. But the fire is now four feet down from the top pole and it's "burned pretty good." The ETA of the utility company is 30 minutes to an hour and a responder says he will "babysit" the situation until the workers arrive.
Multiple fire companies responded to a house fire at 10122 South Street, Pavilion, following a reported structure fire at 9:06 p.m.
Callers reported seeing flames coming out of the garage and spreading toward the house, according to Emergency Dispatch.
There was nobody home at the time the fire was reported.
The fire is now contained and mutual aid companies are going back in service.
Responding were Pavilion, Le Roy, South Byron, Stafford, Caledonia, York, Bethany and Alexander. Bergen was called to fill in at Le Roy's hall and Wyoming filled in for Pavilion. City of Batavia's Fast Team also responded.
Mercy EMS and Le Roy's ambulance also provided scene support, along with Emergency Management Services.
The smell of burning plastic is coming from an oven at 10268 Smithley Road and the Darien Fire Department is responding. Smoke is showing but no flames.
UPDATE 6:25 p.m.: The problem is a malfunctioning stove. Darien fire will be leaving shortly.
A possible silo fire is reported at 3869 Drake St. Road in Elba. The location is between Pekin and Weatherwax roads. Elba fire is responding along with mutual aid from Oakfield.
UPDATE 1:13 p.m.: A tanker from the Town of Batavia is requested to the scene.
UPDATE 1:20 p.m. A crew from the Town of Barre in Orleans County is asked to stand by in quarters.
UPDATE 2:16 p.m.: A fire truck from Alabama is called to a draft site on Fisher Road to assist in fighting the silo fire.
A fire in the bathroom is reported at the Wilson Farms Market at the corner of Cedar and Ellicott streets. Upon arrival city fire reported "nothing showing." But once inside, they confirmed a small blaze and said they should be able to put it out with a water can.
UPDATE 1:41 p.m.: City command reports the fire is out. It was started by a bathroom vent fan and firefighters are breaking into the ceiling the make sure the problem is resolved.
UPDATE 1:48 p.m.: A rep from the county Health Department is called to respond.
UPDATE 2:39 p.m.: The city assignment is back in service. A rep from the Health Department is at the store.
A possible house fire is reported at 8757 S. Lake Road, Corfu.
Pembroke and Indian Falls dispatched. One tanker from East Pembroke requested to the scene. Mercy EMS also dispatched.
There is light smoke showing, according to the first chief on scene.
UPDATE 6:02 p.m.: The fire started in the bathroom and has spread into the ceiling. A second alarm is sounded. (And just as we write this, a chief says the fire is out, second alarm can respond non-emergency. City Fast Team canceled.)
UPDATE 6:06 p.m.: Alabama to fill in at Indian Falls. Darien and Corfu requested to the scene non-emergency. South Lake at Route 5 being shut down.
UPDATE 6:43 p.m.: Responders can go back in service.
The first part of the old farmhouse at 7694 Batavia Stafford Townline Road was built before the Civil War. Today, all of those years became ashes in a controlled burn conducted by the Town of Batavia Fire Department that capped a morning training session at the structure.
Firefighters showed up at the former Dorman family farmhouse early this morning and conducted several interior firefighting exercises.
Town of Batavia Fire First Assistant Chief Nathan Fix said some of the fires really got going, and all were knocked down by interior firefighters in training.
"We had fireman who got to see real fire in real conditions for the first time," Fix said. "We had at least 10 firefighters here who never experienced real fire, real heat, before."
Volunteers from Batavia as well as Bethany, Byron, Bergen, Corfu, South Byron, Oakfield and Elba all participated in the morning exercises.
Bergen's ladder truck was then set up in position to help contain the anticipated inferno, as well as a handful of charged fire hoses, then using road flares, Fix set the structure on fire.
Once the house was ablaze, the firefighters were give a chance to do something that never happens at a real fire scene -- pose for a group photo in front of the burning building.
It took more than an hour for the structure to be completely consumed.
Mark Hare, who was about 5 when his family moved into the house in 2000, made a video of the destruction of his childhood home while his mother, Dawn Hare, looked on. Andy Hare, a retired city firefighter, is in Georgia and couldn't be here for the fire. The Hares' daughter is also out of town.
The Hares built a new home on the hill behind the old farmhouse two years ago, and it's now for sale.
Dawn said the whole family was sad to see the old house go, but it had to be done. The structure had numerous deficiencies and had deteriorated beyond repair. Even when the Hares lived in it, there was no heat on the second floor, the kitchen sink backed up every winter and the electric was out of date.
Fix said it took him six months of work to get all of the proper permissions to burn down the structure, including insurance letters, letters from every utility company that ever serviced the house, the Hares themselves and the DEC.
Since all of the proper paperwork was only recently completed, and it's the onset of winter, the fire department decided to do all of its training and the final bonfire in a single day.
If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.
There are 10 black and white photos in the slide show. They were shot with a Nikon F4 and Illford XP2 film.
