fire

An abandoned house in the area of 422 Council House Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is reportedly on fire.

The call reports flames and smoke showing.

Alabama Fire, Pembroke Fire, and Indian Falls Fire dispatched.

A fire is reported outside the residence of 118 Hutchins St., Batavia.

City Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 12:18 p.m.: City Fire responding non-emergency.

A piece of furniture, apparently from a discarded cigarette, caught on fire while sitting on a porch at 416 Ellicott Ave., Batavia, at about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

City Fire responded and quickly extinguished the fire.

The initial call was for a porch fire.

Photos by Frank Capuano.

A brush fire is reported in DeWitt Recreation Area, off West Main Street, behind WNY Concrete and Upson Maybach.

City Fire is on scene.

UPDATE by Joanne Beck 4:19 p.m.: The third platoon has been recalled to city headquarters and the Town of Batavia Fire brush truck has been requested to the scene. 

UPDATE by Joanne Beck 4:45 p.m.: The fire is mostly knocked down after burning one to one and a half acres. The cause of origin is unknown at this time. 

A caller reports smoking coming from the order speaker in the drive-through of McDonald's, 4138 West Main St., Batavia.

The fire is spreading to mulch.

City Fire responding.

UPDATE 3:57 p.m.: City Fire confirms a mulch fire. Firefighters are putting it out.

UPDATE 4:13 p.m.: Fire extinguished. City Fire back in service.

An alleged open burn with smoke blowing into a residence is reported at 86 South Main St., Batavia.

City Fire dispatched.

Law enforcement is in route.

A controlled burn at 7833 Walker Road, Pavilion, is now reportedly out of control and spreading toward a barn.

The fire is about 20 feet from the structure.

Pavilion Fire dispatched.

The spring burn ban has been lifted, but the National Weather Service has an advisory for dry and windy conditions in place warning of elevated fire danger.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: Le Roy Fire asked to standby in the Le Roy hall.

Strong winds, no fire hydrants, and the ongoing shortage of volunteer firefighters made today's barn fire in Darien a bit more challenging to fight, said Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator for Genesee County.

The fire was reported at about 8:30 a.m. at 2044 Sumner Road, Darien, a 9.4-acre residential parcel owned by David Keller that contained multiple barns and other out structures, all mostly built in the 1950s and 1960s.

Yaeger said an investigation found that the source of the fire was a fire started by the homeowners to the southwest of the barn that caught fire.  Yaeger said the wind changed direction, and embers flew into the barn causing combustible items in the barn to catch fire.

The barn was in disrepair, Yaeger said, and damage to the west side of the barn exposed the interior to the flying embers.

The fire spread and expanded quickly because of the wind, Yaeger said.

There were no injuries, either to residents or firefighters, Yaeger said.  There were no livestock or domestic animals involved in the fire.

Darien Fire was initially dispatched to the fire (follow the link for more photos).

Multiple tankers for surrounding departments, including Corfu, East Pembroke, and Alexander, were dispatched.  The tankers were necessary, Yaeger said, because that part of Darien does not have public water, and there are no fire hydrants in the area.

The need for tankers increases the need for volunteer firefighters, and those are in short supply at the start of a weekday workday, so getting enough manpower to the scene today was an issue, Yaeger said.

Darien Fire, in particular, has been dealing recently with a lack of volunteers.

The lack of volunteers, he said, again illustrates the crisis situation for local fire companies.

"It's still a real concern of mine," Yaeger said. "I applaud the City of Batavia Fire Department for being a real partner with us.  We've got to do something to increase the number of volunteers."

He said a lot of volunteers are aging out, and many who are showing up have been volunteers for 30, 40, or even 50 years, and they do what they can.

"They're still proud of their service to their communities, but we need a new message to bring out younger volunteers to join their ranks," Yaeger said.

Still, even with the challenges, the fire departments on scene were able to have half of a secondary structure that caught fire, as well as the rest of the structures on the property, including the house.

"The house wasn't damaged at all," Yaeger said.

The annual spring ban on controlled burns and open fires ends today, but the National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of an elevated fire risk for the region.

Statement: 

A combination of dry conditions and wind today will create an elevated risk of wildfire spread across western and north central New York. Relative humidity values will drop to as low as 15 to 25 percent, with winds gusting up to 35 mph at times. Despite the recent green-up, these conditions may allow for rapid spread of fires if ignition occurs.

A barn fire is reported at 2044 Sumner Road, Darien.

Darien Fire, Corfu Fire, and Alexander Fire, along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

A second alarm has been sounded for East Pembroke, Town of Batavia and City Fire's FAST Team.

UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: When The Batavian left the scene 20 minutes ago, firefighters were still battling with hot spots, and officials at the fire were not yet ready to release information.  The cause of the fire has not been confirmed yet. 

Flames and smoke are showing from a second floor at 39 Manhattan Ave., Batavia.

Unknown if occupied.

City Fire on scene.

UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: Fire is out.  Visually, no apparent significant damage to the structure. 

UPDATE 11:32 a.m.: The cause of the fire is under investigation, said Chief Josh Graham. Nobody was home at the time of the fire, and there were no animals present, Graham said. No injuries reported. "At approximately 9:46 this morning, we are alerted to a possible structure fire," Graham said. "Before we arrived on location, they called and updated us and said there was actual flame showing. Crews made entry and quickly extinguish it. It was a small room-and-contents fire on the second story. Right now, they're doing salvage and overhaul through the structure."

Graham praised the work of the firefighters. "We were actually given a tour at the fire station at the time. And so they were out ready to go and got here within a couple of minutes, and that speaks volumes to our ability to be able to go in there and knock these fires out before they get out of hand. They did a fantastic job today."

An open fire is reported in the backyard at a residence on Edwards Street, Batavia.

It's the second open burn City Fire is responding to tonight.

There's a burn ban in effect until May 14.

UPDATE 10:31 p.m.: Fire is out. The Resident advised the fire was not permitted. City Fire is back in service.

A grass fire is reported behind the residence at 1262 Herkimer Road, Darien.

Darien Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 1:38 p.m.: Fire is under control.

A grass fire is reported at 10724 Alexander Road, near Stroh Road, in Alexander.

The fire is approaching a residence.

Alexander Fire dispatched.

An apparent "controlled burn" is out of control, according to dispatchers, and a tree is on fire at 112 Elm St., Batavia.

The homeowner reportedly stated that they were burning sticks in the backyard.

City Fire is dispatched. 

There is a burn ban in effect until May 14.

Multiple brush fires are reported in the woods in the area of 6364 Britt Road, Stafford.

Stafford Fire dispatched with mutual aid from South Byron and Le Roy.

A car fire -- with flames showing -- is reported in the parking lot of Batavia Downs.

The location is right across from the entrance.

Town of Batavia Fire is responding.

A fire is reported in a garage attached to a house at 5968 Bartoff Road, Stafford.

There are propane tanks nearby.

All occupants out of the structure except for animals.

Stafford Fire along with South Byron, Byron, Bergen, City of Batavia, Le Roy, and Town of Batavia dispatched. Mercy EMS also dispatched.

UPDATE 3:22 p.m.: City Fire and South Byron are back in service.

A shed fire with smoke and flames showing is reported at 10950 Bowen Road, Alexander.

Alexander Fire, Darien Fire, and Attica Fire dispatched.