batavia

The destruction of one of the Wiard Plow buildings in a massive fire Saturday will have the Mancuso Business Development Group going back to the drafting table, said owner Tom Mancuso on Monday night.

The very structure that was destroyed, despite its deteriorated condition, was a key building in redevelopment plans, Mancuso said.

"There's a lot to sort out and I still haven't processed it all yet," Mancuso said. "We need to understand what steps we need to take. We'll need to take some time and re-evaluate the viability of redevelopment."

Mancuso and the City of Batavia received a grant from RestoreNY for the Masse Gateway Project last year, which is the first phase of redevelopment of the million-plus square feet of industrial buildings that encompass the Harvester Center, the Masse building and the Wiard Plow structures.

Masse Gateway is intended to open an attractive entryway, featuring renovated Masse buildings off of Masse Place, into the entire Masse-Harvester-Wiard complex.

While the fire won't disrupt the Masse Gateway plans, Mancuso said, the building that was destroyed would have been redeveloped as early as phase two, and certainly by phase three.

The building was included in a RestoreNY grant that was rejected by the state a few years ago, Mancuso said, stressing its importance to his redevelopment plans.

"Now we have to move forward," Mancuso said. "I just don't know as we speak what that looks like."

The Wiard Plow building loss was a stunning blow, Mancuso admitted. When the buildings were acquired by the Mancuso Group in the 1980s it was with the intention to eventually redevelop the property, he said.

Mancuso even turned down offers a few years ago from construction firms that wanted to recover the beams in the building. Those developers offered to take the building down at no cost just to remove the heavy timber, but Mancuso turned down those offers because redevelopment rather than destruction was the goal.

"We bought the building to keep it from being torn down, so it is hard," Mancuso said. "It's not the way we wanted to see it go."

As for the bricks, which some people have speculated have some value, he said those evaluations might be overstated, but he would certainly entertain purchase offers for the old masonry.

Even as he takes a look at the viability of redevelopment, Mancuso said he is hopeful there will be a way to move forward.

UPDATE: In a comment on another post, Dennis Wight posted a link to the Masse Swan Village planning document (PDF) available on the City of Batavia's Web site. It clearly shows that the building destroyed in the fire was not intended to be one of the buildings left standing in the renovated complex. When we spoke last night, Tom Mancuso said he was leaving town for a few days. I have, however, left messages for him. I'll try to clarify this issue with him the next time we can talk.

Photo: One of the last photos ever taken from inside the Wiard Plow factory. It was snapped by The Batavian following a 1:40 p.m. fire on Saturday -- six hours before the second, more destructive fire. For the other three final photos available, click here

BATAVIA, NY -- Joseph Benaquist fought ferociously for his life when he was attacked, beaten on his head with a blunt object, and left to die on his driveway in the dead of winter.

If Benaquist could speak at all in his dying moments, it would have been before progressive deterioration of the brain ensued, which would have begun minutes after the fatal blows were struck.

Monroe County Deputy Medical Examiner Scott LaPoint testified Monday afternoon that Benaquist's ability to talk or move would have deterioriated rapidly after the attack, though he could have lived for one to four hours longer, lying on his back in a pool of his own blood, unable to move or speak.

As the fatal blows were struck, Benaquist tried to save himself, putting up his hands to stave off the strikes to his skull, LaPoint said under direct examination from Assistant District Attorney William Zickl. LaPoint said the injuries to Benaquist's hands were consistent with such defensive measures.

When Benaquist's corpse, case No. 09-396, was released to the medical examiner's office by the Genesee County Coroner, it was examined, photographed, documented and then cleaned, shaved, reexamined and rephotograped. Next, the internal organs were removed and analyzed.

The jury in the Scott Doll trial heard all about this process and then were showed gruesome, clinical photos of the 66-year-old's wounds. One of the younger women on the panel pulled a tissue up the her mouth and kept it there with boths hands, obviously distressed by the images. Two other women in the front row grimaced. Juror Number 8, who previously was warned about dozing off, was all eyes and ears.

There was a minor abrasion in the middle of Benaquist's back and more abrasions on his right shoulder. His face was scraped in places and there were at least six large gashes on his head, including a large one across his forehead.

"Any one of those...could potentially lead to a person's death," LaPoint told the jury.

His hands had the kind of injuries associated with fighting off an attacker, La Point said, noting gashes on the inside of one hand, with one finger cut down to the tendon, and cuts on the outside of the other hand.

The internal trauma consisted of two skull fractures, multiple bruises on his swollen brain and blood pooling inside the skull cavity.

His head was struck at least seven or eight times.

A person with such injuries may experience seizures, and could have difficulty moving or speaking before dying.

"Could the injuries have been caused by a car falling off a jack and onto him?" Zickl asked.

No, the witness said.

"Are the abrasions consistent with a body being dragged across a hard surface?" Zickl asked, even though the victim was fully clothed and had on a jacket.

Yes, said the witness.

On cross examination, defense attorney Paul Cambria asked if one could distinguish between injuries on the hand stemming from striking against something or being struck by something.

No, the witness said, but when the injury occurs at or below the second knuckle, it is consistent with defensive actions.

Cambria asked if it could be determined whether the abrasions on his back were the result of the body being dragged along or if they were the result of him lying on his back trying to fend off his attacker.

No, the witness said, there is no way to make that distinction.

LaPoint also acknowledged under cross examination from Cambria that it is difficult to say with certainity how much Benaquist's body could have moved, or whether he was able to speak, and for how long, following the bludgeoning.

Doll's attorney asked if a murder victim's nails, and matter underneath them, typically undergo forensic testing. Yes, LaPoint said, and that was done in this case, too, and the data submitted to the D.A.'s office. But the District Attorney apparently opted not to include them in the case files.

LaPoint was asked if there was a piece of paper with the name "Dave" on it and a phone number found in the watch-pocket of Benaquist's black jeans. Yes, and that was also submitted, the doctor said, as was a sliver of silver-like material embedded found near one of the victim's wrists.

The point being, apparently, that these two submissions also didn't make it into the case files.

Four or five people were interviewed Saturday in connection with the Wiard Plow fire, which police are calling "suspicious," but stressing there is yet no direct evidence that the fire was set intentionally.

"We don't know if anybody was involved," said Det. Kevin Czora. "Again, it hasn't been ruled accidental and it hasn't been ruled intentional."

There is no evidence, according to a Batavia Police news release this afternoon, that the large inferno of Saturday night was the result of lingering embers from a fire earlier Saturday at the same location.

Fire officials stress that the location was checked by several fire personnel after the fire, and a fire investigator even returned to the scene an hour after the first fire was extinguished to continue his investigation. He saw nothing to suggest there was anything left smoldering.

Non-department witnesses were also in the building after the first fire and saw nothing to suggest the fire wasn't anything but completely extinguished.

The building was without electrical power, so a short or other electrical problem has been ruled out as a cause of the fire.

A reader of The Batavian reported seeing two youths running from the scene at the start of the second fire.

There have been no arrests in the case and Czora said that right now the police are just talking with individuals about what they may know or what they saw. None of the subjects are considered suspects at this time.

"We're continuing to do interviews and, where they may lead or not lead, we'll just have to wait and see," Czora said.

Lt. James Steinbrenner is continuing his investigation for the fire department. It will be up to him to determine the cause and origin of the fire. He was unavailable for comment this afternoon.

Earlier, Steinbrenner told The Batavian that it was unclear if the first fire was set intentionally or accidentally. There was evidence of casual use of fire in the building (such as four small birthday candles laying down with the burned ends hanging off a table in a room adjacent to where the fire started). The fire did not fit the profile of arson, Steinbrenner noted, because it occurred during the day and there was no accelerant used to fuel the fire.

The first fire, which was reported about 1:40 p.m., was a small fire contained to an abandoned office filled with reams and reams of old files.

BATAVIA, NY -- The Pontiac G6 that may have been at the heart of an alleged dispute between Scott Doll and Joseph Benaquist had a flat tire when the Sheriff's Office took it into evidence following the discovery of Benaquist's body lying in a pool of blood in his own driveway on Feb. 16, 2009.

A Nissan Altima parked next to the G6 had a broken jack laying behind the front passenger tire when Investigator Timothy Weis took photographs of the scene as he gathered evidence that night, Weis testified today.

Weis was the first witness called today by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman after Sgt. Steve Mullen finished testimony he started Friday.

At one point, while still on the stand, Weis held up the broken jack to show jurors. He said two pivot points were turned in. The jack was "not functional," he said.

Friedman also showed Weis photographs Weis said he took of the side and undercarriage of the Altima. He had Weis circle two spots where Weis said he found blood stains, including one on the undercarriage.

The bloody imprints of sneakers were found on the driveway between the two cars.  There was a battery-dead flashlight on the driveway between a pickup truck, parked in front of the Altima and the G6.

Scott Doll is accused of murdering Benaquist. He was taken into custody the night of the murder after being found walking north on North Lake Road in old tennis shoes carrying a jack and lug wrench.

There was a Ford Windstar registered to Doll's mother parked at an old gas station at the corner of Main and North Lake roads in Pembroke.

That location is 17 minutes, walking, according to Google Maps, from 693 Knapp Road, where Benaquist's body was found.

Today, Friedman introduced photographic and blood evidence -- with Weis verifying that he collected the evidence -- showing blood drops and smears on the interior and exterior of the Windstar.

Weis also testified that the jack was missing from the Windstar and that the jack Doll was found carrying matched the same kind of jack Weis is familiar with from Windstars he's previously owned.

Weis recalled precisely, without consulting notes, the mileage of the G6 (23,633) and a Chevy Malibu (73,801).

During pre-trial motions, Friedman said the G6 and Malibu were key pieces of evidence in the case.

"We anticipate that it will be established that it was these very cars that led to the murder of Joseph Benaquist," Friedman said.

Friedman said that Benaquist had bought the car using Doll's account at the Adesa auto auction for his own personal use and paid $10,000 toward the $13,300 purchase, but that Doll never delivered the $10,000 to the financing company.

Doll's defense Attorney Paul Cambria disputed that assertion prior to the trial.

In opening remarks, Cambria opened the door to speculation that Doll's son, Josh, may have been at the murder scene before Scott Doll. Cambria, saying that Scott Doll found Benaquist just before he died and that Benaquist's final words were, "The boy. The boy."

Cambria said it was Josh who normally did business with Benaquist and Doll only went to Benaquist's home after Benaquist and Josh failed to bring the G6 to the Adesa auction house, as he said Benaquist had agreed to do.

Today, Friedman introduced into evidence Benaquist's driver's license and an access pass to the Adesa auction in the name of Doll's other son, Brandon. The two documents were found by the coroner in Benaquist's wallet.

As for Mullen's testimony, there was a point where Mullen apparently thought he was being asked a question about a forensic examination of Scott Doll's mobile phone and discussed such an examination. The question was actually about whether there was an examination of Joseph Benaquist's phone.

After Mullen stepped down, the attorneys conferred with Judge Robert Noonan and then Noonan instructed jurors that the attorneys wanted to clarify that Benaquist's was not examined.

The trial was resuming at 2 p.m. with Weis returning to the stand for further direct questioning by Friedman.

Juror Number 8 is having a hard time staying awake.

He's been seen several times doing a head bob on Friday and today, and often has his eye closed.

His apparent inattentiveness has come to the attention of Judge Robert C. Noonan who informed attorneys during a break -- with the jury out of the courtroom -- that he felt he should talk with the juror.

Defense Attorney Paul Cambria said he was concerned about singling out just one juror, even when not in front of the other jurors. He asked Noonan just to instruct the jury to pay better attention and ask for more frequent breaks if needed. He said he didn't think it should be assumed Juror 8 is falling asleep.

Noonan said he's seen the head bobs.

As the juror was being summoned to the courtroom, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked that the conversation with the juror be held in the judge's chambers. Noonan agreed to an on-the-record conversation with the juror, in his chambers.

When the jurors re-entered the courtroom, Juror 8 was still on the panel.

When the jurors came back, Noonan reminded them that while not everything that goes on during the trial is "the most scintillating," it is important they pay attention, and they should ask for breaks when needed so they can maintain their attention during testimony.

Jeffrey M. Kohorst, 21, of 6105 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with menacing and reckless endangerment. Kohorst is accused of getting into a domestic dispute with a former girlfriend and her current boyfriend at the Kohorst residence. While the former girlfriend removed her property from the residence, Kohorst allegedly retrieved a shotgun from inside his home and confronted the new boyfriend demanding that he leave the property. Kohorst allegedly followed his threat by firing one shot in the direction of, and in close proximity to, the boyfriend. Kohorst was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Frank E. Finnin, 44, of 10 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Finnin reportedly was wanted on a warrant out of City Court for failure to answer an alleged petit larceny charge. Finnin was spotted by Officer Dan Coffey at 10:15 a.m., Friday, walking on West Main Street.

Timothy Lee Taylor, 35, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Taylor is accused of violating an order of protection out of Family Court that limited the number of calls he could make to his ex-girlfriend. Taylor allegedly made more than 355 calls over an unspecified amount of time.

Scot G. Judd, 27, of Albion, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Judd was arrested at 9:47 p.m., Wednesday, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, who was conducting an investigation at the Mark Trial Hotel when he found Judd allegedly in possession of marijuana.

Elizabeth Anne Holly, 46, of Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, driving left of the pavement markings. Holly was stopped by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello at 2:14 a.m., May 1, for allegedly crossing the double-yellow lines as she exited Valu Plaza on West Main Street.

Taheed Makal Moffett, 25, of Rochester, is charged with conspiracy, 5th. Moffett is accused of conspiring with another person in Genesee County Jail to promote prision contraband. No further details were released.

Jeffery Matthew Kaczmarek, 41, of Darien, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, driving left of the pavement markings, moving from lane unsafely. Kaczmarek was stopped by Deputy Jason Saile at 2:26 a.m, Saturday, on Route 20 in Alexander.

Michael James Killigrew, 21, of Corning, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, and moving from lane unsafely. Killigrew was arrested by Deputy Jason Saile at 2:55 a.m., Saturday, on Route 20 in Bethany following a report of a one-car accident. Killigrew reportedly swerved to avoid striking a deer and his car wound up in a ditch.

Jason Guy Nichols, 37, of Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass and harassment. Nichols is accused of entering a residence on East Main Street in Batavia without permission. While inside he allegedly harassed a woman during a domestic dispute. At his arraignment in Batavia Town Court, an order of protection was issued.

Steve Mullen was the only witness called to testify in the Scott Doll murder case on Friday. He has been employed by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office for 18 years and is a sergeant in charge of the Criminal Investigation Unit.

He told the jury he got a call from Sheriff's Investigator Kris Kautz early Feb. 17, 2009 about a body found at 683 Knapp Road in Pembroke. He drove to the scene in a marked cruiser and pulled in behind Deputy Howard Carlson. Carlson's vehicle had the headlights on and they illuminated a body lying the the driveway.

With his flashlight, Mullen observed a large pool of blood around the victim, Joseph Benaquist, and damage to his skull. The body had frozen over and there was frost on his eyebrows.

The body was lying between two vehicles. Mullen requested an ambulance, as a matter of protocol, and cordoned off the area with yellow crime scene tape. A unit from the City of Batavia confirmed the death and Sheriff Deputy Chief Jerome Brewster went to the scene, calling two others to assist, Investigator Timothy J. Weis and Deputy John R. Duyssen.

"We did as thorough a search as we could in the dark," Mullen said, adding that he and Carlson checked vehicles and ran the plates through the database, looked in the house and around the property.

Mullen said he spent hours there and didn't leave until well after sunrise.

He noticed the rear tire on a Pontiac G6, which had a temporary registration, was flat. It was towed to the Sheriff's department for forensic processing, along with a Chevy Malibu.

Later that day, Mullen met Weis on Route 490 in the Town of Gates to give him some items secured as evidence to take to the public crime lab. The items included the bloody overalls, sneakers, work gloves and fireman's head sock.

On Feb. 20, investigators got a search warrant and went to Scott Doll's house at 31 E. Main St. in Corfu.

It is at this point in the testimony that tedious points of vehicle documentation ensued. At District Attorney Lawrence Friedman's prompting, Mullen said he was very familiar with car registries, paperwork and the car business because his father had a small dealership when he was growing up.

The officers found papers from Doll's and Benaquist's car business, but no book of registry. They did find two so-called MV 50 books, issued by the state, which show all the data needed to take to the DMV to transfer plates. All dealerships keep two such books, Mullen said, so one is always at hand when the other is sent to the state temporarily as required.

Friedman asked if Mullen found the paperwork showing a 2007 van belonged to Benaquist. No, Mullen said, nothing in the book matched up with the vehicle's sticker that was missing. The paperwork for an '03 Chevy TRZ was partially filled out and signed by Scott Doll.

The jurors at this point became fidgety. They yawned, blinked, adjusted their necks, rearranged their arms.

Two jurors seemed unable to give the proceedings their undivided attention.

One juror kept his eyes closed for looongg periods of time. He sat in a completely ridged, frozen-like state throughout the court session, with only is jaw moving from time to time as he chewed gum. Once in a while, his eyes actually opened.

The other guy with a questionable attention span nodded off many times during the morning. There was no court in the afternoon. His head would bob downward, stay there awhile, then he would suddenly awaken, subtly surprising himself. His head would raise up, but not for long.

When the jury took a 20-minute break a couple of people in the gallery quipped "hey, maybe he should take some No-Doze," and words to that effect.

On cross examination, Doll's attorney Paul Cambria asked if Mullen took photos during the search. No, Mullen said. Did anyone else take photos? No, Mullen replied, not that he knew of.

Cambria asked if he searched the house? Yes, Mullen said, but because they were supposed to be looking for areas where a person might be, they did not open drawers and inspect nooks and crannies.

They checked the closets and looked for Scott Doll's shoes. Did they check to see if any other man's shoes were there, Cambria asked. No, Mullen said.

Cambria said that while Mullen knew that the Pontiac G6 had a temporary registration, he didn't know the circumstances of that, did he? No, Mullen said, only what should and should not be in the book.

"But you didn't know what the deal was among the parties?"

No, Mullen said.

At Benaquist's house, did anyone photograph shoes there? Cambria asked. No, Mullen said.

Under further questioning by Cambria, Mullen said he searched around the body and found no weapons. He took part in the initial search, but not subsequent ones. He filed the murder charge against Doll sometime after 9 a.m. on Feb. 17, but Doll still had not been given access to legal counsel. No blood analysis was done, no blood-spatter expert consulted and no DNA analysis had been done.

Although Mullen was at the murder scene for up to nine hours, he didn't gather any evidence. Rather, he oversaw and assisted the evidence-collection process. Investigator Weis gathered the physical evidence and took photos. But when Weis took evidence to the crime lab, Investigator Roger M. Stone filled in as photographer. Carlson kept the case investigation log.

There were some things at the scene which apparently escaped Mullen's attention, according to his testimony after being shown a number of photos. There was a boot in the snow, later removed, that he hadn't noticed. There was a pickup truck, photographed from the back, which Mullen said he hadn't seen before.

"It's a little unusual because it had folding chairs in the back of it," Cambria said.

And although Mullen confirmed that the photos presented into evidence where "fair and accurate," he couldn't remember what vehicles were in the driveway and where they were located.

One photo showed Benaquist's hands, each encased in plastic bags to retain DNA evidence, such as skin under the fingernails, hair, etc. This is routine procedure. But forensic testing of his hands was not requested and therefore not done.

Near one of the vehicles in the driveway lies a "big, big flashlight," clearly seen in a photo. Mullen didn't recall seeing it. Cambria asked if anyone had tested it, to see how long it took a charge before it went dead. No, was the answer.

Another photo shows a car jack under the Nissan, another detail Mullen could not recall. And the Nissan, in addition to being processed for evidence at the Sheriff's station, was then taken to the State Police for additional evidence gathering, which Mullen had not been aware of until being shown a photo.

A chunk of wood in front of a tire can be seen in one photo. In another shot, it is gone and there is no evidence marker in its place. Mullen said he believes that it was photographed and marked as evidence, then removed, but he could not be sure.

Courtroom sketches by Robert Garland. Top sketch of Sgt. Steve Mullen on the stand. Inset, Judge Robert Noonan. Bottom sketch, Daniel Killelea, Scott Doll and Paul Cambria.

Reader Carl Szalbak submitted these photos from last night's Wiard Plow factory fire.

On Saturday, the United Post Office held their annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Did you ever wonder where that food that you put by your mailbox  goes? Care-A-Van Ministries is  a benefactor of the food the community donates. Your donations help stock the shelves at Care-A-Van.  Amazing as the shelves were just getting empty and then pours in the blessings of the community to fill them again.

Shelves Saturday morning before drive

A very special thank you to  those that donated food, the volunteers out picking them up, the postal carriers, the staff at the local Post Office and those who came to Care-A-Van headquarters to help unload and organize the shelves. Your contributions will help feed those in need. Besides the weekly outings with the bus, Care-A-Van receives calls during the week of those in need of food for their households.

Batavia Fire's Engine 12 was back on scene this afternoon after smoke started to rise from the rubble near the still intact part of the structure. While smoldering wood has been allowed burn well away from the remaining structure, firefighters were concerned this was a little too close. 

Curious area residents continue to drive by the Swan Street scene on a regular basis.

As a few last whiffs of smoke drifted from debris of the old Wiard Plow factory in Batavia late this morning, streams of area residents drove by the Swan Street location to see for themselves the destruction from Saturday's massive fire.

What they saw was more than the rubble of bricks, charred beams and twisted metal. They also saw the remains of Batavia's once thriving industrial history.

Firefighters were on scene as late as 10:30 a.m. as investigators tried picking through the debris to find the factory floor, in hopes of confirming the fire's origin and possible cause.

Lt. James Steinbrenner said they did get to a portion of the floor, but not the area they want to investigate.  Steinbrenner said the location investigators would like to examine is under much heavier rubble.  He said it will take heavy equipment to remove and it's unclear yet who will pay for that work.

Arson is still suspected, but police detectives have yet to announce any findings.

More pictures after the jump:

The bottom two pictures show the smashed windows of two trucks that may be associated with a business that had been (and might still be) occupying another section of the Wiard Plow complex. Based on the location of the vehicles, it seems highly unlikely that these windows were smashed by falling bricks from the fire.  A more likely possibility is that they were smashed previously by vandals.

There was nothing Tom Mancuso could do but watch.

Mancuso, donning a New York Yankees ball cap, and wearing a gaunt, dour expression in the unseasonably cold night, stood for hours just watching as firefighters tried to beat back the hungry red and blue flames devouring his building, the old Wiard Plow factory that his firm acquired in the 1980s.

Through the battle, Mancuso rarely turned away. He just watched.

"You can always build another 100,000-square-foot building," Mancuso said at one point. "You can never replace a 100-year-old building."

An Alarm of Fire
Just before sunset Saturday, Genesee County Dispatch started to get calls of a fire at 33 Swan St. -- the same location where a smaller fire had been extinguished by the Batavia Fire Department earlier Saturday.

On a day when the dispatch center dealt with hundreds and hundreds of calls, the switch board lighting up just fit the pattern.

But this time, this was no "possible" structure fire. Witnesses -- and there were several -- reported seeing heavy smoke.

By the time the Batavia Fire Department was on scene, flames were already showing.

The call quickly went out for mutual-aid departments to respond -- from Le Roy, Stafford, Town of Batavia and several others.

By 8:15 p.m., big balls of flame were shooting from the back of the historic structure.

Among the witnesses to the initial smoke was a reader of The Batavian, who told us he saw two youths running from the building. He said that later those same two youngsters were being questioned by police.

A little after 11 p.m., The Batavian confirmed Batavia Police detectives Todd Crossett and Kevin Czora were at the police station talking with two juveniles. Their parents had also been called to the station.

Earlier in the day, the Batavia Fire Department responded to a report of smoke coming from the rear side of the same Wiard Plow building.

Two youths reported the fire, saying they were walking in the area when they spotted the smoke. Lt. James Steinbrenner said Batavia Police questioned the youths who reported the fire and determined they were in fact just witnesses and not involved in the possible arson.

The fire, according to Steinbrenner, appeared deliberately set. There were papers spread around the floor of an abandoned office space that had been ignited. The arrangement of the paper suggested it was sometimes used as bedding.

An electrical cause could be ruled out because the building had no utilities service.

People could gain access to the space where the fire was found through a collapsed wall in an inner courtyard-like area. There was evidence that somebody had used a pallet to construct a makeshift ladder to gain easy access from the courtyard down into the office area.

Four burned birthday candles sat on a table in a room adjacent to the office were the earlier fire was discovered.

That fire was completely extinguished by BFD before it had a chance to spread beyond the office.

This evening's fire, according to Steinbrenner, may have started several yards to the south of the earlier fire, but within the same group of rooms in the building.

Fire Protection
Mancuso was clearly concerned about access to his building. He said work crews just within the past couple of weeks had welded shut doors that vandals had been using to gain access by breaking locks. There was also a 10-foot-high chain-link fence that was supposed to prevent people from entering the courtyard area.

"It was secured from the casual person entering," Mancuso said.

Several fire companies from Genesee County responded to the blaze, including Le Roy, which over the previous six or seven hours had responded to 15 calls in its own district -- mostly trees and power lines down.

Batavia's interim fire chief, Craig Williams, said the first order of business was firefighter safety.

"It’s a vacant building, so our first priority is making sure our guys stay safe, so we weren’t going to enter the building," Williams said.

Firefighters formed a perimeter around the building, striking it with several streams of water -- including three aerial (or ladder) trucks.

One Batavia firefighter said Le Roy's ladder truck crew deserved special credit for attacking the fire from the front of the building and keeping the flames from spreading beyond the firewall.

“There were breeches in the firewall, because of construction and renovations over the years, but we dumped a lot of water on it," Williams said. "Between the firewall and our efforts it looks like we pretty much got it stopped at the firewall.”

All evening, temperatures were at or below freezing, and snow flurries occasionally blew through the scene.

Firefighters were universally thankful for the cold and damp weather. With the high winds of Saturday evening, the fire could have quickly and easily spread if not for the recent rains. The entire Harvester complex could have been lost. Winds of 30 to 40 mph were carrying embers directly over the old factory buildings.

Town of Batavia Fire was assigned early in the incident, Williams said, to watch over the Harvester buildings.

Shortly before 11 p.m., heavy-duty wrecking equipment was brought in to start knocking down bricks and mortar that were first set in the 1870s.

By knocking down the ancient walls, the remains of the fire could be more quickly extinguished.

By about 1 a.m., Sunday, most of the fire units who had responded were back in service.

Updated at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, to include information about weather conditions and potential damage to the Harvester complex.

Previous coverage:

• Historic Wiard Plow Co. destroyed by fire
• Photos: Old Wiard Plow factory fire
• Reader Photos: Wiard factory fire
• Juveniles being questioned in connection with Wiard factory fire
• Historic building on Swan Street ablaze
• Swan Street fire caught early, before any real damage done

Here are 29 photos from the scene of tonight's Wiard Plow factory fire.

More pictures after the jump:

More pictures after the jump:

Two juvenile subjects are currently being questioned at Police Headquarters by Batavia Police detectives Kevin Czora and Todd Crossett.

Their parents have been called to the station.

A witness earlier informed The Batavian that he saw two youths running from the scene, and later saw those two same individuals being questioned by police.

Here are a few photos I took while at the scene. I'll post more later. We've also received numerous reader-submitted photos and we will post those later. I'm heading back to the scene as soon as this post is up.

A firefighter said it looked like this fire broke out only feet from where this afternoon's fire was apparently set.

The back of the building is a total loss. There is a chance the front half will be saved.

A number of firefighters I spoke with said they were thankful it's a cold and damp night.  With the direction of the wind and embers in the air, Harvester Center could have been ignited as well, if not for cold and damp weather.

More later.

There is a structure fire at the Wiard Plow Co. building at 33 Swan St. in the City of Batavia. Firefighters are on scene, opening up the building to vent the smoke. The roof is afire with 20-foot flames. A second ladder is requested. A crew from Alexander is requested to fill in for the City of Batavia as standby. Looky-loos are posing an impediment to the firefighting efforts.

The fire is engulfing the rear of the structure. There was an apparent arson there earlier this afternoon.

"From everything I can see the main sturcture is OK but there's a lot of embers flying around. A good chunk of the rear of the building fell down," reports a firefighter.

All firefighting manpower from the city and town of Batavia are called to the scene.

The report of this tree falling into a house at 2 Manhatten Ave., Batavia, came in around 5:30 p.m.

The initial report said the residents were trapped in the house, but they managed to get out before city firefighters arrived.

This is the scene at 6:51 p.m.