fire

Byron firefighters are responding to a reported controlled burn at 7068 Swamp Road. The location is between Hessenthaler and Pocock roads.

A fire in a firepit "possibly not under control" is reported at 5 Montclair Ave. in the city. The location is between Olin Avenue and West Main Street.

City firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 12:00 a.m.: "The fire was extinguished upon our arrival. We're back in service, returning," says a firefighter.

City firefighters are called to investigate a possible controlled burn by the nature trail at DeWitt Recreation Area off Cedar Street.

UPDATE 12:47 a.m.: Firefighters are in the area investigating. The caller reported two bicycles in the vicinity of the blaze.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department’s origin and cause team under the command of Captain Martin Hinz has determined through a systematic process of comparison examination, reconstruction of the fire scene, witness statements and a detailed examination of fire debris the cause of the following incidents in 2019:

• July 4 -- 13 Hutchins St.: Under investigation
• Aug. 26 -- 337 Bank St.: Accidental, cooking related
• Aug. 31 -- 18 East Ave.: Accidental, electrical
• Sept. 17 -- 511 Ellicott St.: Accidental, cooking related
• Sept. 18 -- 11 Garfield Ave.: Accidental, mechanical failure
• Sept. 23 -- 1 City Center (Island Hawaiian Grill): Accidental, spontaneous combustion

Chief Stefano Napolitano commends Captain Hinz and the other members of the investigation team for their dedication and diligence in determining the origin and cause of these fires.

The process of investigating is never easy, however, it is imperative that a determination is made so as to bring closure as well as enhance the possibility of not repeating the cause if possible.

The City of Batavia Fire Department was assisted in part by City of Batavia Police and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

An alarm of fire at the Islands Hawaiian Grill at 11:55 p.m., Monday night, turned out to be a real fire.

Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano says fire crews arrived on scene at 11:58 p.m. to finda working fire in the kitchen of the restaurant, which is located at 60 Main St., Batavia.

The restaurant opened about a month ago.

The sprinkler system had been activated by the time crews arrived. That helped contain the fire, Napolitano said. Crews attacked the fire and it was contained to the kitchen area but the restaurant experienced smoke and water damage.

The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation. 

City fire was assisted by Batavia PD, DPW, and Emergency Dispatch.

UPDATE 10:41 a.m.: Cait Kunichika, who operates the restaurant with her partner, Kourtney, said they anticipate being able to reopen by this weekend. They are waiting to speak with their insurance company. Cait said it was a small kitchen fire and the sprinkler system helped contain it. The restaurant was closed when the blaze began and investigators don't know the cause yet, she said.

A car fire is reported at 11 Garfield Ave., Batavia.

The car is in a garage.

The garage is not attached to a house.

City fire responding.

UPDATE 8:39 p.m.: A second alarm is sounded. Alexander's Fast Team requested to the scene. Town of Batavia to stand by in headquarters.

UPDATE 8:42 p.m.: Town of Batavia now requested to the scene.

UPDATE 1:25 a.m.: Photo by Frank Capuano added. I shot video at the scene a little later. It's taking forever, for some reason, to upload to YouTube. I'm going to bed and will add the video in the morning.

A resident at 511 Ellicott St., Batavia, was seriously hurt in a 1:57 a.m. fire, according to City Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano.

The woman was rescued from a second-floor bedroom by firefighters shortly after the alarm came into City Station.

It took city crews about three minutes to arrive on scene, Napolitano said.

The victim was transported to UMMC by Mercy EMS and then transferred to Strong Memorial Hospital. Napolitano said he believed her to be in critical condition with lung damage.

Her name has not yet been released.

The fire may have started in the kitchen area, cause unknown at this time, but the fire is still under investigation, the chief said.

When the first crew arrived, heavy smoke and flames were showing from a first-floor window on the east side of the structure. Firefighters made an aggressive initial attack, he said, while other firefighters used a ladder to reach a second-floor window to rescue the woman who was trapped upstairs.

Five adults and one child lived in the two apartments, according to the chief, and the four other adults and the child escaped the fire unharmed.

All have been provided shelter by the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross will provide further assistance.

One apartment unit is still habitable, the chief said, but all utilities were cut off during the fire and have not yet been restored.

The fire quickly went to a second alarm and additional city crews responded. Alexander Fire's Fast Team also responded along with a heavy rescue truck from Le Roy Fire Department to assist with refilling air bottles. Town of Batavia fire filled in at the city fire station to cover city calls during the incident.

Batavia PD and Batavia DPW also assisted at the scene.

Photos by Frank Capuano.

City fire is called to respond to the report of a large bonfire at 243 S. Swan St.

City of Batavia Fire responded to a call of a house fire on 18 East Avenue early Saturday morning. The fire started the up stairs unit bathroom.

A smoke detector alerted the couple living up there that there was a fire. They called 9-1-1 and woke the tenant on the first floor alerting her to the fire. All evacuated safely and are currently being give aid by he neighbors. Two cats remain in the building.

The fire is knocked down. Building is being ventilated.

East Avenue is currently closed between Ross and Vine streets.

UPDATE 4:10 a.m.: One cat made it out on its own, the second cat was rescued by Batavia fire and is being given oxygen. There was also an infant in the upstairs apartment who was evacuated safely and appears to be fine but is being evaluated by EMS.

Initial investigation indicates the fire was ignited by faulty electrical in the upstairs bathroom.

A man who suffered serious burns Monday night after a kitchen fire broke out in Apartment #44 at Walden Estates on Bank Street in Batavia is now listed as being in satisfactory condition at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Batavia Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano has not officially released his name.

Firefighters were on scene in under four minutes from the time they were dispatched at 9:13 p.m. Aug. 26.

From the City of Batavia Fire Department:

At approximately 9:13 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26, the City of Batavia Fire Department was dispatched to a possible kitchen fire at Walden Estates, 337 Bank St., apt. #44. First arriving fire units responded and were on scene in under four minutes from time of dispatch.

A second-alarm fire is reported at 337 Bank St. at the Walden Estates Apartments, Apt. #44, in Batavia. A man who lives there has burns on his arms and an ambulance is called in non-emergency mode.

The address is between Ross and Vines streets in the city. City fire and Alexander's Fast Team are called to the scene, along with Le Roy Fire Department.

This call was initially toned out as a kitchen fire.

UPDATE 9:33 p.m.: City Engine #12 is on scene.

UPDATE 9:37 p.m.: Responders are asked to bring overhaul tools to the scene.

UPDATE 9:44 p.m.: Batavia command tells Alexander the fire is mostly knocked down.

UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: Command reports fire is knocked down; overhaul commencing.

UPDATE 11:51 p.m.: The American Red Cross was reported en route about 10 minutes ago to assist the displaced occupants of the burned-out apartment.

Photos by Frank Capuano.

A kitchen fire is reported at the Northside Meadows Apartments at 335 Bank St.. City fire is on scene. The apartment has been evacuated.

UPDATE 6:55 p.m.: They are trying to find a phone number for a building rep, so dispatch can call and request them to the scene. A former tenant advises a poster listing contact information is inside a hall in the building.

City firefighters are on Summit Street investigating a controlled burn in the vicinity after a caller to dispatch reported smoke in the area.

UPDATE 4:26 p.m.: The blaze was actually a small campfire behind property in the 100-200 block of Bank Street. It has been extinguished.

The Department of Environmental Conservation called the Genesee County Dispatch Center to report the possibility of tires being burned on Railroad Avenue in Alexander. A first responder checked it out and found the location to be 3543 Railroad Ave.

Alexander Fire Department was called to respond, but the first responder on scene says he spoke to the homeowner who said he would put the fire out.

"He's just got a small fire burning here and he's going to put it out now," the first responder says.

No police response warranted, but DEC will follow up for a report tomorrow.

UPDATE 4:53 p.m.: Fire is out. Assignment is back in service.

A deck is on fire at 99 Myrtle St. in the Village of Le Roy. It is attached to the house. Le Roy fire is responding along with an engine from the city and mutual aid from Bergen. The landlord is on scene. Flames and smoke are showing. Le Roy police and medics are on scene. The location is between Craigie and Gilbert streets.

The road is being shut down at Myrtle and Craigie, and at Myrtle and Gilbert.

UPDATE 3:05 p.m.: The fire was put out about 20 minutes ago. The roads are reopened.

UPDATE 3:09 a.m.: The Le Roy assignment was put back in service a minute ago, but a unit will remain on scene "until the homeowner arrives."

A flower box fire is reported at 335 Northside Meadows, Batavia.

City fire responding.

A car fire, five feet from a residence, is reported at 81 Wolcott St., between Union and Clay streets in the Village of Le Roy. Le Roy Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 12:34 p.m.: A first responder on scene reports a working car fire.

UPDATE 12:36 p.m.: A chief at the scene says "fire appears to be knocked down. Continue the equipment."

UPDATE 12:51 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

An open burn in the city is reported at 130 Pearl St. City fire and law enforcement are responding. The location is between Roosevelt Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue.

Alabama fire responded about 5:30 p.m. yesterday to a car fire on Route 77 and Ledge Road.

Photo submitted by Yalonda Samanka.