fire

From the Batavia City Fire Department:

City of Batavia firefighters were kept very busy for hours with back-to-back house fires in the city, Saturday night beginning at 10:22 PM.

The first alarm came in for 12 Elm Street with report of a possible explosion and flames showing Within three minutes, city firefighters arrived on scene and quickly extinguished a fire that was found in the side stairwell of the three-story apartment house. Four residents were alerted by smoke detector and were safely outside the structure when the firefighters arrived. Firefighters performed a search and rescue for a fifth resident, thought to be on the third story. After searching the apartment, it was determined that the resident was gone for the evening. Damage was confined to the stairwell. The home was ventilated for smoke removal. The American Red Cross provided the residents with temporary accomodations. Total damage was estimated at $2,500. The cause is under investigation.

While still on scene at the Elm Street fire, a second fire alarm was called in for a house fire located at 45 Walnut Street. With a two-minute response time, the firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the windows of the two-apartment structure.

A general alarm of fire was made to all off duty city firefighters as well as a mutual aid request to the town of Batavia Fire Department. The town supplied an engine and a rescue truck to the scene and a second engine to stand by at City Fire Headquarters. The fire was declared under control in approximately 25 minutes.

The homeowner smelled smoke and discovered the fire in the ceiling above a wood stove. He alerted the other occupants and all escaped safely before firefighters arrived. The American Red Cross was also able to assist the occupants of this second fire of the night.

The home was completely gutted with a damage estimate of approximately $50,000.

Fortunately, there were no injuries to residents or firefighters in either fire with fire crews returning to quarters at 2:20 AM.

Firefighters were battling a blaze at 12 Elm St. Saturday night, when a second alarm was sounded for a fire at 45 Walnut St., according to a report in the Democrat & Chronicle.

The Elm St. fire caused an estimated $2,500 damage to a multil-family complex, 

The two-apartment building on Walnut was gutted, causing an estimated $50,000 in damage.

Off-duty firefighters and units from the Town of Batavia were called in to help Walnut St. blaze, which took 25 minutes to suppress.

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Hats off to Jay Lynch and the Genesee County Fire Wire for picking up a second place grab in the International Association of Fire Fighters Media Awards Contest. Lynch won in the category of "Fire service photo on a Web site" for this shot of city of "Batavia Fire Department Lieutenant Mark Mikolajczyk pulling down the ceiling during overhaul operations at 39 Washington Avenue."

From the press release:

Each year the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) holds their “Media Awards Contest”. The Media Awards Contest honors communications, reporting and photography that best portray the professional and dangerous work of fire fighters and emergency medical personnel in the United States and Canada.

These awards recognize the exceptional work by IAFF affiliates who serve a vital role in their communities while generating public awareness for fire fighters. The stories and photos entered also bring to light important issues that affect the welfare of fire fighters throughout North America.

The 2008 Media Awards Contest entries are made up of many categories including print, internet, and video media. City of Batavia IAFF Local 896 entered several photos in following categories:  “News Photo With A Circulation Under 100,000” and “Fire Service Photo On A Web Site”.

That seems like quite an honor for Lynch and the Fire Wire. Congratulations!

The Daily News also picked up a nod. A photo of fire fighters tackling a blaze at Pauly's Pizza received honorable mention.

Honorable mentions ... are used in the IAFF’s Burn Foundation Calendar. The Burn Foundation is dedicated to burn prevention and education, burn research and improving the quality of life for burn survivors. It was created in 1982 and is the largest non-government source for burn research grants and the sponsor of the annual IAFF National Children’s Burn Camp, held each fall in Washington, DC. The Batavia local of the IAFF is proud to have the Daily News photo included for the 2009 IAFF Burn Foundation Fundraising Calendar.

You can purchase a calendar at the IAFF Web store.

City and town fire crews responded to a fire this morning at Genesee Valley BOCES on State Street Road in Batavia. A call went out shortly after 11 o'clock, after some employees and students at the school pulled the manual fire alarms, according to Nate Fix, town of Batavia fire lieutenant.

Fix explained that a washer in the laundry room of the school malfunctioned and burned out, which caused a small fire within the washer. Everyone had evacuated by the time crews arrived, and no damage was caused to anything other than the washer, which was a total loss.

City fire crews provided mutual aid. No injuries were reported.

We don't cover Medina, but the Daily News does.  Good coverage by Virginia Kropf, with a couple of dramatic photos, of a Saturday morning fire that destroyed a home there.

Quick thinking and the amazing athleticism of a 72-year-old resident of a Bank Street townhouse  may have saved the lives of him and his wife as he single-handily battled a fire, according to a Democrat & Chronicle story.

Something awoke the couple at about 3:40 a.,m. this morning, and the man -- who is not identified -- jumped from his second floor window, grabbed a shovel, smashed a window and extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived using water and a five-gallon bucket.

The couple was treated and released for smoke inhalation at United Memorial Medical Center. The man also sustain some cuts on his feet from broken glass.

The apartment, at 337 Bank Street, suffered enough damage to make it unlivable. It did not have a working smoke detector, according to Chief Tom Dillon.

City of Batavia fire crews responded to a call at 21 Liberty Street, Ficarella's Pizzeria, this morning at 11:15am, according to Captain Craig Williams. Callers reported a smell of smoke inside the building. When firefighters arrived on the scene they saw smoke inside and smelled wood burning.

A fire was quickly located in the attic and extinguished by the personnel on scene. Crews were on scene for about an hour. No injuries were reported.

A malfunctioning neon sign caused the fire. Damage is estimated at $2,500.

Two adults, whose names have not been released, were treated for smoke inhalation early this morning after a fire broke out inside their apartment at Walden Estates at 337 Bank Street in the city of Batavia.

City fire crews report that the fire was contained to the first-floor dining room of the two-story frame house around 3:36 am. Firefighters were on scene for just under two hours battling the fire which caused heavy smoke damage to the first and second floors.

No one else was reported injured. Details of the cause of the fire are under investigation.

A chimney fire has been reported at 8824 Lovers Lane, in Corfu. It has been upgraded to a second alarm fire.

We'll most more information when it's available.

UDPATE: 5:24 p.m. The alarm has been down graded and some units returning to stations.

The Batavian is heading out to find out more information on a reported mobile home fire on Ellicott Street Road in Bethany. We will post additional info as it becomes available.

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Updated: 2:17pm... We arrived on scene a little under a quarter of an hour ago. No flames could be scene inside or outside the mobile home, which is situated on a plot of land just past East Road on Ellicott Street Road. Fire crews are on scene, and they seem to have everything under control. Some thin wisps of smoke are still blowing out the back of the home. No real damage to the front of the structure. No further information is available at this time. We will bring you updates as they become available.

A double-occupancy residence at the corner of Elm and Fisher Park was gutted in a fire that was reported at 7:40 a.m.

Both families evacuated themselves without incident according to Batavia Fire Chief Thomas Dillon, who said the fire was a hard one to fight because of the age of the building.

No injuries, either to the families or firefighters, were reported.

We'll have a video interview with the chief posted within an hour. (as you can see, video now up) The Daily News has three photos posted, but no additional information.

UPDATE: Here's a Google Street view of the location.

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UPDATE II:  Photo of the aftermath:

No cause has yet been determined in the fire that tore through several barns at My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia last week. Tim Yaeger, Genesee County Emergency Management coordinator, told us that he was still working to determine what led to the blaze, along with members of the fire department and several provate investigators.

"We haven't yet ruled anything out," said Yaeger. "It doesn't look suspicious. It was an accidental fire. But we don't have anything yet. We continue to work at it."

The following photos were submitted by Molly Riner, a member of the family that co-owns the farm. The first shows the view inside the main barn shortly after the fire broke out. Below that is the interior of the "gym" that sustained some damage in the blaze. Lastly, we see the main barn after it had become completely engulfed.

This was the view from Lewiston Road, facing south toward Batavia, right after it started.

Earlier today, we met with Patricia Riner, one of the co-owners of My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia, site of a massive barn fire yesterday—coverage on The Batavian has been ongoing. Riner told us about the nearly incalculable loss—all of the farm equipment in the barn, including tractors, planters, harvesters, fertilizer, tires, irrigation equipment; basketball hoops and gym equipment—everything was lost. Farmers and friends and family from all over the region have been coming by offering their support, says Riner. Folks came by with lunch today. Some have made offers of farm equipment to lend to help finish up the season's crop transfers. Others have been by to help clean up in any way they can.

There's still no word on what caused the fire nor any estimate on the damage. Riner said that they can only hope for the best going forward.

Please follow this link for our complete coverage.

Tom Rivers reports in today's Daily News that Batavia Downs will now be known as Batavia Downs Casino following a change of heart among the state's lottery regulators. Further, "video gaming machines" will no be re-dubbed "slots." Rivers explains:

Lottery and state legislators have eased their restraint in using terms "casino" and "slots" to describe the activities and games in the race tracks, which are now filled with beeping and flashing machines that resemble Vegas slots.

What does this mean for the business? Apparently, a lot.

"The word 'casino' is more representative of our business," said Martin Biniasz, the Downs marketing director. "It's a wise move on the state's part because they realize these machines can be a great revenue generator."

Biniasz goes on to say that the new name will allow them to better compete with Native American casinos.

In other news, Scott DeSmit covered yesterday's fire at My T Acres in Batavia, which was featured on The Batavian yesterday and this morning. The Batavian will also be posting an interview with My T Acres co-owner Patricia Riner later this afternoon.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

We received a press release this morning from the town of Batavia Fire Department with further details on yesterday's massive barn fire at My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia. The Batavia crew reports that the fire, which started in the main barn of a three-barn complex, completely destroyed "the main barn and numerous pieces of farm equipment," which were stored inside. Both of the additional attached barns "received substantial heat, smoke and water damage."

We reported yesterday that only one firefighter sustained a minor injury, but he did not seek medical assistance. No livestock or other animals were housed in the farm complex. No one else was injured as a result of the fire.

Investigators are already on scene today looking to establish a cause and origin of the fire. No estimated dollar value of loss has yet been determined. The Batavian left a message this morning with the property owner, Nate Call, who was on scene with the insurance representative.

Mutual-aid fire departments were requested from the City of Batavia, Alexander, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield and East Pembroke Fire Departments. Additional Fire units from Stafford, Albion, Attica, Indian Falls, Alabama, Barre and Corfu fire departments provided stand-by assistance.

The Town of Batavia Fire Department was also assisted at the scene by the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Genesee County Health Department, Genesee County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and the Wyoming County Correctional Facility.

The following photographs of the wreckage were submitted by Steve Ognibene.

Thomas Wommack submitted this photo. He said he shot the scene Galloway Road.

Our previous posts:

• Video: My T Acres barn fire (Details)
• Batavia: My T Acres barns engulfed in flames

We continue to welcome reader pictures of this fire (or anything interesting you've photographed).  The best way to submit photos is to create a new blog post and upload your photos. Here's a tutorial to help.

UPDATE: Here's a satallite photo via Google Maps of the farm.  The barn that was destroyed is the large one to the right of the photo. The gymnasium forms the lower part of the T, pointing toward Lewiston Road.

The fire has also become a topic of discussion in the Ag-Talk Forum.

Deputy Chief Paul Barrett, of the town of Batavia Fire Department, gives us a summation of the days events following the barn fire earlier today at My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia. Please note: we spoke with Barrett shortly after 1:30pm, three hours after the fire broke out. At that time, they expected to be on scene extinguishing a handful of smaller fires for another few hours.