fire

It's been Ron Viele's intention for years to tear down the wood-framed structure at 46 Swan St., Batavia, once known as Backhoe Joe's, because it has been an eyesore on Swan that potentially devalues the rest of his property on the street.

Viele owns Viele Construction, which has an office at 61 Swan St.

"I want to make sure that street looks as good as possible," Viele told The Batavian.

He's aware of social media chatter that the fire was an "insurance fire," but it wasn't insured, he said.

"That building was not in good shape," Viele said. "It is adjacent to the railroad tracks. A former owner had taken everything out and people were coming in and taking wires and pipes, anything of value. I intended to take it down, and the building had no insurance on it."

Some years ago, he tried to buy the building, winning it at a tax lien auction for $8,000, but a former city manager felt his purchase of the building was a conflict of interest with Ron's son, Paul Viele, on City Council, so the property went to another buyer.  Then in 2018, it came up for auction again, and he and Dick Borrell teamed up to buy it for $1,800, he said. 

He bought the property with the intention of demolishing the building.

He said he owns about $800,000 worth of property on Swan Street. He wants to protect those investments.

The clean up -- after the fire -- will still cost him at least $40,000.  That may be at least $4,000 cheaper than the demolition would have cost, he said, because there is now less material to haul away.

He noted that electrical and water service had been shut off to the property for some time. 

"It was one of those buildings that could become a money pit," Viele said. "I could put six figures into it.  The return (on investment) wouldn't have been good enough to fix it."

Viele said he needed multiple permits from the city in order to proceed with demolition.  He recently got final approval and was ready to proceed, but the contractor he hired for the job was tied up, so demolition wouldn't have started for at least another two weeks.

That section of the street is zoned industrial, and the parcel is too narrow to build anything new on it because of setbacks required in the current zoning code, so once the building is cleared away, the lot will likely remain vacant.

While most people remember 46 Swan as Backhoe Joe's, it was a tavern for many decades under various names.  Those were once thriving businesses when there was still heavy manufacturing at the Harvester Center and Wiard Plow, but as employees drifted away from those industrial hubs, the bar and restaurant business on Swan Street dried up.

More recently, the building has been attractive to transients, Viele noted. He said just a week ago, he called the police to chase transients out of it, and he had asked Batavia PD to provide extra patrols in the area to keep transients away.  He put a fence around the entire property a few weeks ago to try and keep transients out of the building. 

Viele said a fire chief told him initial indications are that the fire started in the basement.

"Probably what happened was a transient was in there who was trying to keep warm, and something stupid happened," Viele said.

Fire Chief Josh Graham said that is possible, but investigators, which include investigators with Batavia PD, have not yet made a final determination on the cause and origin of the fire.

"No matter what happened, it's not a happy event," Viele said.

Previously:

• Fire reported on Swan Street
• Investigators expect to dig deep to uncover cause of fire that destroyed former Backhoe Joe's

No piece of lumber, so to speak, will go unturned at 46 Swan St., Batavia, the former Backhoe Joe's, as fire investigators attempt to determine how a conflagration enveloped the vacant building on Friday afternoon and brought it to the ground.

Both Chief Josh Graham, City Fire, and Capt. Robert Fix, said as of yet, they have no clue how the fire started or why it spread so quickly.

An initial caller at about 12:10 p.m. reported smoke coming from one of the windows.  A few minutes later, Fix was leaving the County Courthouse, where Engine 17 had been dispatched earlier for a medical call, and he saw a tower of smoke to the east and immediately called for a second alarm.

"Upon arrival, it was fully engulfed in fire throughout all the windows," Fix said. "That's when we went to a third alarm because of the large brick exposure building and set up for defensive operations."

All City Fire platoons were dispatched to the fire. Oakfield Fire filled in at City Fire's hall. Town of Batavia, Stafford, and Elba all responded to the scene.

There have been no reported injuries.

Fix said the first concern was protecting nearby buildings, particularly the closest structure, a brick building to the south of 46 Swan, which explains the defensive posture of fire crews.

There was also an issue with sufficient water flow from one fire hydrant.

"The problem is with the fire, this fire, if you start using too many hydrants in the same neighborhood, you're robbing water from each other at that point," Fix said. "So we had some of the mutual aid fire departments come in off Liberty Street and start bringing a water supply from a different area."

As for potential reasons why the fire spread so quickly, Fix suggested the afternoon's strong breeze fed the flames. 

"There was a pretty good east wind here like there is now, you know, during the fire and having the vacant lot across the street and the railroad tracks, the wind is whipping right through here pretty good," Fix said. "But other than that, I don't have a reason why it got such a good head start on us."

Graham noted the age of the wood structure. Also, since the building was in the midst of demolition.

"It's an older structure," Graham said. "There's a lot of holes in it, a lot of ventilation and stuff to feed the fire. So it could be as simple as that. I can't rule anything out. We just don't know at this point."

Neither Graham nor Fix would speculate on the possible cause of the fire.

The structure has been vacant for a long, long time -- nobody at the scene seemed to know how long.  Over the summer, there were signs of work being done on the building, then a safety fence was erected around the entire lot, and a sign for Viele Construction was on the Swan Street side of the property.

The county lists 46 Swan Street LLC and the property owner. That LLC has a mailing address of 61 Swan St., Batavia, which is the location of Viele Construction.

County tax records say the "actual year built" for the structure was 1920, with an "effective year built" of 1970.  The lot size is .16 acres. The commercial use is listed as a tavern with 1,943 square feet. The total area of the structure was 3,886 square feet. 

In 2002, Joseph Garland sold the property to 46 Swan Street LLC for $70,000.  The LLC sold it in December 2011 for $1 to Julie Pappalardo.  The City of Batavia is listed as the owner prior to a sale on March 27, 2018, to Richard Borrell. He owned it until June 26, 2018, when 46 Swan Street LLC reacquired it for $1.  With the exception of the 2002 deed record, the property is listed as unusable for valuation. 

Its most recent total assessed value is $22,000. The land is assessed at $6,400.

For more photos, when the building was fully engulfed, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens.

A fire is reported at 46 Swan St., Batavia.

A firefighter on scene reports, "heavy fire."

The location is the former Backhoe Joe's.

City Fire is on scene.

A second alarm is requested.  Town of Batavia requested to the scene.

A commander says, "We're going to be defensive on it."  Train traffic is being stopped.

UPDATE: Photos by Frank Capuano.

UPDATE: A reader shared this photo of the smoke pillar from the fire as seen from way down on West Main Street, Batavia.

Town of Batavia Fire has been dispatched to Veterans Memorial Drive in Batavia following a report of a box truck on fire that is hauling mattresses.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: Fire is under control.

A house fire is reported at 26 North St., Le Roy.

The caller reported the fire and hung up without providing more information.

Le Roy Fire, City Fire, Bergen Fire, Pavilion Fire, and Le Roy Ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 6:47 p.m.: All occupants are out of the house. Stafford and the Town of Batavia also responded. The fire reportedly started on the first floor and climbed through the wall into the attic.  There is heavy smoke damage.

Photos by Howard Owens

Pavilion Fire and mutual aid companies are on scene of a barn fire close to a residence reported on Old State Road at Moag Road.

The call came in just before 8 p.m.

The first responder on scene reported a fully involved working barn fire.

The Pavilion chief requested a second alarm. Dispatched: Batavia's FAST team, Bethany, Stafford, Le Roy, with mutual aid was requested from Livingston County and Wyoming County.

A structure fire is reported at 2993 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield.

Oakfield Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 4:44 p.m.: Second Alarm.  Town of Batavia Fire and East Pembroke Fire dispatched. A person reportedly trapped in the structure. Alabama Fire to fill in at Oakfield Hall. Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. Joanne Beck: One occupant and two dogs were rescued from the structure safely. No other occupants are in the home. No flames and only light smoke are on scene at this time.

The fire is under control, and responding fire departments are starting the overhaul. 

UPDATE 7:43 p.m.: The scene commander was Chad Williams, first assistant chief of Oakfield Fire. The first chief on scene confirmed that there was a structure fire and a person inside, along with two dogs. That chief and a state trooper coaxed the occupant out. 

A neighbor had reported the fire and the occupant was apparently unaware of the fire.  

Williams said the first engine on scene arrived quickly. 

He said, "We made quick work into the house and ended extinguishing the fire, knocking down the base of it, and we made some headway to find where it was located."  He said the fire appeared to have started with or near a wood stove. 

The occupant was checked by medics and had no apparent injuries. 

Asked about the quick work of the firefighters to knock down the fire, Williams said, "That's that's what we trained for. We don't get these very often. A lot of folks, when we do this training, they're like, 'oh boy, why do we got to keep doing this training?' But you know, once that training kicks in, it's like muscle memory. It just kicks in. It's second nature. They go in they do what they got to do, and then everybody comes out unscathed."

A grain bin fire is reported at 6902 Ivison Road, Byron.

Byron and South Byron fire departments dispatched, along with Bergen's ladder truck and an engine from Elba.

A structure fire was reported at 3274 Broadway Road, Alexander, shortly before 6 p.m. 

Alexander Fire, Town of Batavia, East Pembroke, and Attica responded.

It took about 20 minutes to put the fire out.

Photographer Philip Casper said a cat was taken from the residence but he doesn't know the status of the cat.

Photos by Philip Casper

Westbound Thruway traffic was blocked for a time this afternoon because of a truck fire in the area of mile marker 399.

Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls Fire, Corfu Fire, and East Pembroke Fire responded to the call, which came in at 12:28 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The truck was hauling Poland Springs water.

Photos by Stephen Kowalcyk.

Alabama Fire is responding to 2557 Towne Place, near Macomber Road, in Oakfield, for the report of smoke coming from a vacant house.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: A chief on scene reports nothing showing.

UPDATE 11:17 a.m.: Responders, which now includes an engine from Oakfield, can respond non-emergency.

City Fire is being dispatched to State and Willow streets for a report of a large fire in the back yard of a residence in the area.

The fire was reportedly discovered by a Batavia patrol officer who first reported a large amount of smoke in the area.

He informed the dispatcher that the fire is a dresser on a fire pit.

UPDATE 9:27 p.m.: City command reports, "Fire in the fire pit. City assignment back in service."

Town of Batavia responded this evening to a fully involved tractor-trailer fire on the Thruway in the area of Genesee Community College.

Photo by Steve Ognibene.

There were no injuries, not to the residents, firefighters, nor to the family pets in a fire at 10 Prune St., Batavia, this evening, but there was significant damage to the residence, said City Fire Chief Josh Graham.

The garage, where the fire started, is a total loss.

"There is significant damage to the second story," Graham said. "It's pretty well a total loss, and there is a lot of water and smoke damage on the first floor."

Graham said City Fire received a call at about 6:22 p.m. of smoke coming from the garage.

"Crews saw smoke as soon as they pulled out of the fire station (on Evans Street)," Graham said. "When they got on scene, the garage was fully involved with an extension into the house. They declared a second alarm, and the Town of Batavia responded, Elba responded."

The residents were out of the house, and a dog and cat also escaped safely, Graham said.

The streets are narrow, and houses are close together in the Prune Street neighborhood. The Tully's parking lot was right behind the house. That made it tight quarters to maneuver trucks and fight the fire.

Unloading hoses quickly and getting them into place quickly was difficult.

"One thing I will say is there's a house down here with a 16-year-old that came out and saw us struggling to pull a hose down, and he grabbed ahold of that hose and helped pull the hose down," Graham said. "Moving all that hose, getting everything in place with everything else around in the house was the hardest part."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A neighboring house sustained some heat damage.

Property tax records indicate the house is owned by James and Peggy Benedict. It was built in 1900 and remodeled in 1970. 

(Initial Report)

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Photos below by Frank Capuano.

A garage fire is reported at on Prune Street at South Spruce, Batavia.

Flames could be seen coming from the structure.

City Fire is on scene.

A house fire is reported at 18 Colorado Ave., Batavia 

City Fire dispatched. Second alarm for Alexander, Town of Batavia, Elba, City home monitors.

UPDATE 2:54 a.m.: The fire seems to have been knocked down.

UPDATE 4:32 a.m.: Firefighters do not believe the house was occupied. There is as of yet no information available on cause or origin.  City Fire initially received a call for the smell of smoke in the area of East Main Street and Masse Place. A firefighter said it smelled like a house was burning somewhere.  Then a call reported a structure fire at 18 Colorado Avenue. The house was fully involved when City Fire arrived on scene.

UPDATE: Press release:

On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, the City of Batavia Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the area of Masse Place and East Main in the City.  As crews were searching for the source, City of Batavia Police discovered a residential structure on fire at 18 Colorado Avenue. Initial fire units arrived to find fire showing from the front of a two story, single family home.  Fire crews entered the home to perform searches for any occupants and extinguish the fire. Searches for occupants were negative. The fire caused significant damage to the majority of the structure, the remaining portions suffered smoke and water damage. No one was home at the time of the fire. One cat perished in the blaze.  

No injuries were reported. 

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by City of Batavia Fire Department.   

The City of Batavia Fire Department was assisted by the City of Batavia Police, Codes Department, and Water Department as well as the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center, the Town of Batavia Fire Department, the Elba Fire Department, and Oakfield Fire Department. 

Photos by Howard Owens

Smoke in the building is reported at Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road.

The building is being evacuated.

Town of  Batavia Fire responding.

UPDATE 5:01 p.m.: The fire is out. Somebody on location used a fire extinguisher. There is smoke in the building.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: Confirmed. The fire is out. Firefighters are ventilating. 

A caller reported hearing a large boom and seeing a cloud of black smoke behind S&S Limousine at 7160 West Main Road, Le Roy.

A second caller reports a pickup truck on fire in a backfield.

Le Roy Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 7:32 p.m.: A fire investigator is requested to the scene.

UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: Fire is knocked down.

A four-unit residential complex at 6163 North Lake Road, Bergen, is reportedly filled with smoke.

There is smoke in the basement.

The units have been evacuated except for one unit, which may not be occupied.

Bergen Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: Possible hot water tank fire that is now out.

A porch fire is reported at 7959 North Road, Le Roy.

That's between Conlon Road and Lake Street. 

Le Roy Fire, along with Bergen and City of Batavia, dispatched.