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House fire on Maple Street in the city

By Billie Owens

A house fire is reported at 26 Maple St. in the City of Batavia. Evans Street is shut down at Watson Street. City firefighters are on scene.

UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: Two Mercy rigs are requested to the scene.

UPDATE 1:37 p.m.: Maple Street is shut down at Thorpe.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: A Fast Team from the Town of Batavia is called in as well as a town crew to fill in at the city's fire hall. A female with burned hands is waiting for treatment at the corner of Evans and Maple. The second floor of the structure is fully involved.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: Mutual aid from the Town of Elba is on scene. There's a vehicle at the scene that needs to be moved (the owner of vehicle's wife works at the warehouse/transfer facility on Ganson Avenue, but they don't have the owner's name. He was seen walking down Maple).

UPDATE 1:52 p.m.: The inside fire is knocked down. They are starting rehab of the fire scene. A rep. for National Grid is called and will be there shortly. Now they are calling for a fill-in at the city station from Oakfield. The city's third platoon is called to the scene. The house is the light brown (or dark tan) two-story at the corner of Evans and Maple, across the street from the church.

UPDATE 2:01: An adult female with first- and second-degree burns to her hands is being transported to UMMC. The National Grid rep. is on scene.

UPDATE 2:09 p.m.: There's fire in the ceiling above a first-floor bedroom and they are going to break into the ceiling to put it out. Oakfield is in the city's fire hall.

UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: Fire under control.

UPDATE 2:37 p.m.: A National Fuel rep. is called to the scene.

UPDATE 2:52 p.m.: The American Red Cross is called to come to the aid of a mother and her three children. There are other occupants who live in the home, but they have not yet determined other information about them.

UPDATE 2:59 p.m.: The other family who lives in the house is "all set" and will apparently not require Red Cross assistance.

UPDATE 3:21 p.m.: The building owner is on scene.

UPDATE 3:34 p.m.: Elba firefighters are back in service.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Red Cross is on location. City fire crews are rolling up their hoses and preparing to leave the scene.

UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: Mutual aid responders from the Town of Batavia Fire Department are back in service.

UPDATE 4:42 p.m.: The structure will be demolished this evening.

Billie Owens

We lived across the street and down two places from the house that caught fire. Were there just over two years. We live just one street over now. It's a world of difference if I do say so myself.

Apr 20, 2012, 3:13pm Permalink
Lori Silvernail

Why are they going to demolish it so quickly? How can they determine the cause if they can't get in there? And I guess they aren't going to let anyone see if they can recover even a bit of their personal effects?

Anyway, sorry so many have lost their home and belongings. It must be so hard

Apr 20, 2012, 5:57pm Permalink
Mark Brudz

Lori, Fire Departments usually salvage what they can in situations like this, Arson investigators certainly got what ever they needed almost immediately after the fire was out.

Sadly, the risk to injury more often than not has to take presidence over some of the personal proterty in the building.

It is always sad when families and individuals are displaced by fire, the bright side is that no one died. Hopefully the women with burned hands injuries are not as severe as they sounded

Apr 20, 2012, 7:18pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

When I stopped by at 6 p.m., firefighters were helping residents recover all of the belongings possible.

By that time, the cause had been determined.

Apr 20, 2012, 11:54pm Permalink

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