fire

An alarm of fire was reported from Beech Hall at College Village, located at 8170 Batavia Stafford Townline Road. Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department is responding. A call-back from the facility indicates the alarm was prompted by burnt food in room B302.

UPDATE 8:55 p.m.: Firefighters are told to bring a box fan to the third floor and a gas fan to the door on the north side of the building.

UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: Having ventilated the stench of burnt food from the entire floor of the dormitory, the volunteer firefighters are back in service, as are the fans.

A pole fire and possible transformer fire are reported at 7323 Kenyon Ave. Alabama Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 8:05 p.m.: The scene has been turned over to National Grid. Alabama is back in service.

A brush fire is reported in the woods by 9450 Warsaw Road. Le Roy Fire Department is responding. The location is between Perry and Cole roads.

UPDATE 3:18 p.m.: A responder on scene says it's a hedgerow on fire in the middle of a field.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: A fire truck from Pavilion is asked to respond to the scene in non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 3:56 p.m.: The fire is out. Crews are doing overhaul. A rep from the Department of Environmental Conservation is on scene.

A small rubbish fire "that's gotten out of hand" is reported across from the Byron Fire Hall. One truck is requested to extinguish it. The fire is at 6350 Townline Road.

UPDATE 1:11 p.m.: The fire is out.

A fire alarm has sounded in Spruce Hall at College Village. Town of Batavia firefighters are responding. The address is 8170 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road.

UPDATE 9:02 p.m.: Firefighters on scene report "nothing showing."

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: The chief says a second unit should search the center of the building for burnt food. "Looks like they were fryin' food a little too hot," says a firefighter. They've checked Room 206 and found nothing, but then checked G105 and found evidence of smoke. "It seems to be coming from the heater, but the heater hasn't been turned on for several hours."

UPDATE 9:27 p.m.: The alarm is deemed unfounded. Town of Batavia is back in service.

A small brush fire is reported near the median of the Bovee Road Bridge and Route 490. Bergen and Le Roy fire departments are responding.

UPDATE 2:28 p.m.: Fire is out. Assignment is back in service.

Burnt food in Room 102 in Spruce Hall at College Village resulted in a fire alarm to which the Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department's Engine 24 responded. Upon investigation, burnt food was confirmed to be the cause for alarm and Engine 24 is back in service.

Dispatcher: "Copy, 253 on scene, investigating burnt rice."

The chief (253 is from Town of Batavia Fire) is "on scene" at Cedar Hall at College Village.

Yes, school is back in session.

Engine 21 is on location.

UPDATE 3:01 p.m.: Town of Batavia is back in service. Confirming burnt food.

A tractor fire is reported roadside on Judge Road, Alabama.

Alabama Fire Department is responding.

Batavia Fire Department has responded to 104 Jackson St., lower, for a possible oven fire.

The apartment is full of smoke.

The resident states he just moved in and it's the first time he used the stove.

UPDATE 7:33 p.m.: Burnt food. City fire ventilating the apartment.

UPDATE 7:45 p.m.: The food is out of the stove, the stove is out of the house and City fire is back in service.

A fire is reported on the outside of a house in Oakfield at 56 S. Main St. Oakfield Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2:54 p.m.: The fire is out. Oakfield will still be responding to investigate and to check the structure with a thermal imaging camera.

A grass fire is reported reported by the quarry on Gulf Road, near Circular Hill Road, in Le Roy. Le Roy Fire Department is responding.

A large pine tree is on fire, and it's near a gas grill, just one house south of 6417 Oak Orchard Road, Elba. Elba Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 1:41 p.m.: "The fire's out. We're gonna hit a couple hot spots," says a firefighter.

UPDATE 1:57 p.m.: Elba is back in service.

A train's traction wheels, or possibly brakes, are smoking at the Walnut Street railroad crossing and city firefighters are responding to the call, which came from CSX.

UPDATE 12:33 p.m.: The incident is on the main line, just east of Donahue Road, and it's determined to be outside city limits. The Town of Batavia Fire Department is handling the call and the city's crews are standing down.

UPDATE 12:46 p.m.: Dispatchers were told by CSX authorities in Albany that train traffic was stopped to accommodate emergency responders. Then firefighters see a train chugging down the tracks in the opposite direction. So are the trains stopped or aren't they? Dispatch can only relay what they were told. "You can only do so much," one says.

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: First responders on scene report fire is dying down, assignment held to units already responding.

UPDATE 1:12 p.m.: The smoking wheels are no longer smoking.

UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: Batavia fire is back in service.

Pavilion Fire Department is requested to the scene of 11304 Starr Road, the location of last night's barn fire, for an apparent rekindle of the fire.

UPDATE 8:10 a.m.: A chief on scene reports a couple of hot spots have flared and only one engine is required to deal with the situation.

UPDATE 8:45 a.m.: Pavilion fire is clear the scene and back in service.

A passerby who spotted the early stages of a barn fire on Starr Road in Pavilion on Tuesday night might have helped save 37 head of cattle.

Two sons of the farm owner were able to get the cattle out of the barn before it was engulfed in an inferno that consumed the entire structure.

Pavilion Fire Chief Paul Dougherty said the main structure of the barn was fully ablaze by the time the first firefighters arrived on scene just minutes after the initial call at 8:18 p.m.

The heat was so intense it was already starting to melt the vinyl siding on a house at least 100 yards away from the barn.

The command post for the fire, situated on a mowed grass area across the road from the fire, had to be moved back twice because of intense heat.

"With that much fire load going, the wood and combustibles all burning at once -- plus the the fact was a metal-sided building, which contains the heat until it burns through, and then once it does burn through it all comes out at once – it throws a lot of radiant," Dougherty said.

The barn was on the Kelkenberg Farm and Dougherty said the owners were "very lucky" the fire was discovered when it was. That portion of Starr Road, Dougherty noted, is lightly traveled in the late evening.

There is no public water in that part of Pavilion (as is the case with most of the Pavilion Fire District) and because of the low precipitation totals over the past year, the two closest water sources didn't have sufficient water to help fill tankers to fight the fire.

Firefighters had to fall back on slightly more distant secondary water supplies, but Dougherty said that since the fire spread so quickly after its intial discovery, even a good water supply wouldn't have helped save the structure.

Fire companies from three counties responded to the fire.

There was no saving the barn, Doughety said.

"At that point our big concern was keeping primary power lines cool so they didn’t drop in the road because that would have been dangerous for everybody on both sides, and then protecting the house," Dougherty said.

At 12:20 a.m., firefighters are still on scene. No cause of the fire has been released. The Sheriff's Office will likely release an initial report on the fire by the morning and we'll update this story with any additional information or details when they become available.

UPDATE 10:09 a.m., Wednesday: The cause of the fire has not been determined and remains under investigation, the Sheriff's Office said today. Investigators do not believe there was any foul play. The structure is described as four connected wood-framed barns and buildings. The main barn was fully engulfed in flames when the first units arrived on scene. Mutual aid companies included Le Roy, Stafford, Bethany, Alexander, Warsaw, York, Leister, among others. The initial 9-1-1 call was made by Craig Green. According to a source, Dave Tillotson was also a first witness and helped with rescuing the cows.

(Initial Report)

(This photo from the scene was provided from reader Joel R. Murcin.)

A fully involved barn fire "with lots of smoke" is reported in Pavilion at the Schumacher's Kelkenberg's barn, thought to be located at 11338 11304 Starr Road. The location is between River and Hudson roads.

Alexander, Bethany, Town of Batavia's Fast Team, and Pavilion are responding along with units from Wyoming County. They are asked to draw water from Pearl Creek.

Bergen will stand in at Pavilion's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:31 p.m.: National Grid has been notified that there are power lines on the ground and it will respond ASAP.

UPDATE 8:45 p.m.: Fire police are asked to shut down traffic at Route 63 and Starr Road.

UPDATE 8:53 p.m.: Le Roy Fire Department is also responding as is Caledonia's.

UPDATE 8:56 p.m.: York's pumper is on scene and will be drawing water from the "first hydrant in the village," because getting an adequate water supply to fight the fire is proving problematic. The natural gas line in the barn is shut off.

UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: Monroe County is being notified they are tapping into hyrdrants. The water in the creek is said to be low, yet the amount to be had from the hydrants is also said to be limited. Now, they have enough water flow from the Hanson Aggregates mining facility. "We have plenty of it now." Warsaw crews have arrived.

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: The top of a utility pole is on fire, directly across from where firefighters are working. Le Roy's auxiliary is called to provide cold drinks to the firefighters.

UPDATE 9:09 p.m.: They will employ the ladder brought by Warsaw to wipe out fire on one side of the barn, allowing those on the ground using hoses to concentrate on the other areas.

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: The Town of Batavia's Fast Team is released from duty.

UPDATE 9:28 p.m.: Since the water supply from Hanson's is proving adequate, they are going to shut down the hand lines connected to fire hydrants.

UPDATE 9:58 p.m.: Cold beverages have arrived for the crews.

UPDATE 11:25 p.m. (by Howard): Fire crews are still on scene.The fire is knocked down but tankers continue to bring water to the scene to deal with what's left of the smoldering remains of the barn. Below are more pictures submitted by Joel R. Murcin. I was also out at the scene and will have a report with photos later tonight.

UPDATE 12:21 a.m.: Le Roy units returning to their hall.

Ah, the fall semester nears. Is that burnt food emanating from College Village? Why yes, it is. Room 203 in Spruce Hall. The college has confirmed it is burnt food. And the Town of Batavia now musters a fire crew to respond.

UPDATE 2:39 p.m.: The fire department confirmed the confirmation that food was burning inside Room 203 at Spruce Hall. It is back in service.

A trash can is on fire under the pavilion at the Veterans Memorial Park on South Main Street. Elba Fire Department is responding

Black smoke is reported in the area of East Main Street Road and Broadlawn Avenue and the Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding to investigate.

UPDATE 7:36 p.m.: It is deemed a controlled burn. "We're all set here." Town of Batavia is back in service.