fire

A caller reports smoke in her basement at 1073 Bethany Center Road.  She said she started her furnace just prior to the smoke appearing.

Stafford Fire and Bethany Fire being dispatched.

First responder reports: "Nothing showing."

UPDATE 11:43 a.m.: Crews and equipment being held in their halls while the situation is further investigated.

UPDATE 11: 47 a.m.: Stafford standing down.

UPDATE 12:25 p.m.: Bethany back in service.

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In 1823, James Monroe was president, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were still alive, and it would be more than six decades before Thomas Edison would start the first electric company.

It was also the year a brick house was built at 9418 Roanoke Road.

Today, electricity sparked a fire, driven by high winds, that gutted the little red brick house.

"It's a nice old house," said Betty Smart, who lived on the former farm property for 40 years with husband Terry.

It first started when winds disconnected a electrical wire leading from the house to the barn. The live wire hit the metal roof over the kitchen igniting combustible material under the tin.

Once there were flames, wind gusts quickly fed the fire.

“It’s an abnormal condition that we normally wouldn’t see, but that wind got into the interior and just moved the fire right through the house," said Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator.

The Smarts called 9-1-1 as soon as they spotted the fire and immediately got out of the house. Nobody was injured in the fire, or in fighting it, and the Smart's three pets live outside and were not harmed.

Yaeger said beside the winds, water supplies were a challenge. Firefighters used two hydrants, but one of them was nearly 3/4 of a mile from the scene. Crews also trucked water in from a pond two miles away.

Assisting Stafford were fire departments from Pavilion, Bethany, Byron, Bergen, Le Roy, Town of Batavia, Caledonia, York, along with Le Roy's ambulance service and Mercy EMS.

More pictures after the jump:

An automatic alarm of fire sounded a short time ago at the new Med-Tech building near GCC.

Town of Batavia is responding, and first responder requested a responding fire truck position itself next to a fire hydrant. He reported condensation on one of the windows.

A key holder (somebody with emergency access to the building) is responding.

UPDATE 1:11 a.m.: The alarm is sounding from an elevator shaft.

UPDATE 1:13 a.m.: "It's very steamy." (Not sure of the context of that statement.) The key holder is on scene.

UPDATE 1:14 a.m.: "Second floor clear. No type of steam atmosphere up here."  Responder has made entrance to elevator room. "Nothing showing." Maintenance person reports "they poured concrete this morning." Checking the rest of the building.

UPDATE 1:19 a.m.: Crews are double-checking the entire building, but the drying concrete seems to be the cause of the alarm.

A truck fire just before 7:30 a.m. tied up traffic on the Thruway going through Pembroke.

Traffic was reduced to one lane during the incident and it took more than an hour to get traffic flow back to normal.

Reader Kevin Switzer submitted this picture.

Three 14-year-old boys have been charged with setting the Wiard Plow factory fire, which destroyed a good portion of the historic structure May 8.

Because the boys are juveniles, their names are not being released by law enforcement. Two of the boys face two counts each of arson, 3rd, and the third member of the trio faces one count of arson, 3rd.

The first two boys are accused of starting an early afternoon fire in an abandoned office in the old factory. The 1:40 p.m. fire was quickly extinguished by the Batavia Fire Department after a passerby reported seeing smoke coming from the building before the fire had much chance to spread. 

All three were allegedly involved in starting a second fire in the evening -- reported at 7:40 p.m. --  which quickly engulfed a good portion the structure causing an estimated $288,000 damage.

Lead investigator Det. Kevin Czora along with other members of the Batavia Police Department, the fire department, New York State Fire and the Genesee County District Attorney's Office spent three months building the case against the suspects. Detectives conducted numerous interviews and gathered physical evidence.

The three juveniles, because of their ages, have been referred to Genesee County Family Court to answer the charges.

Besides the arson charges, all three were also charged with burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief, 2nd, and conspiracy, 4th.

For previous coverage, click here.

A grass fire has been reported in the area of mile marker 387, westbound lane, on the Thruway.

Town of Batavia Fire has been dispatched.

UPDATE 11:12 a.m.: Dispatch has received only one call on the fire. It's believed to be a small one, possibly started by a truck tire retread that came off and landed in the grass.

UPDATE 11:14 a.m.: An assistant chief has checked the Thruway and is unable to find any fire. In an unrelated incident, dispatch has also received calls about a large column of smoke behind Bj's Wholesale Club on Lewiston Road. It is a controlled burn.

UPDATE 11:16 a.m.: The controlled burn apparently has smoke drifting as far as the dispatch center on Park Road. It's been going all night and there was reportedly ash falling on West Main Street last night.

UPDATE 2:16 p.m.:  Earlier, Town of Batavia extinquished the fire. Now they're being called back to the scene.

A hedgerow fire has been reported in the area of 9163 Roanoke Road, Stafford.

Stafford Fire is responding.

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Le Roy Fire has been dispatched to a structure fire at 3556 Main Road, York.

Bergen has been requested to the Le Roy Fire Hall to fill in.

I've not heard if any other Genesee County units have been dispatched.

A dishwasher fire is reported at 9227 Robbins Road in Le Roy. The building is evacuated. Le Roy Fire Department and an ambulance are responding.

UPDATE (7:35 p.m.): A homeowner reports a cat is in the building. The fire is out. Crews are checking extension wires. A person from county Emergency Management is en route.

UPDATE (7:41 p.m.): Firefighters are in the basement making sure it is safe.

UPDATE (7:50 p.m.): A fire official on scene reports "The family cat has been located and secured and is in good health."

A fully involved car fire is reported at 4658 Route 20 in Bethany, near Francis Road.

It's off the roadway. Bethany Fire Department is responding.

A possible electrical problem is reportedly creating smoke in the house at 32 Canterbury Lane, Bergen.

Bergen Fire and Le Roy's ladder truck are being dispatched.

Mutual aid requested from Churchville.

A grass fire is reported along the south side of the CSX railroad tracks between Dublin and Beaver Meadows roads in Byron.

Byron, South Byron and Bergen fire units are called to the scene. There is a CSX representative at the scene.

UPDATE (12:20 p.m.): Bergen is asked to stand down. It is back in service. Both directions of the railroad line are being shut down while the firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze.

A caller reports tires burning on property located at 3788 S. Main St. Road. A Sheriff's Deputy is requested to the scene along with a brush truck from the Town of Batavia Fire Department.

A gas dryer is reportedly on fire at 1325 Broadway, Darien Center.

There is no structure fire at this time.

Darien Fire and Alexander Fire have been dispatched.

UPDATE 4:42 p.m.: It is now a structure fire. Corfu is also responding. Flames reported on the outside of the building.

UPDATE 4:48 p.m.: Broadway and Route 77 are being shut down. Batavia's Fast team is being dispatched.

UPDATE 6:18 p.m.: Firefighters continue to battle hotspots inside the house. The amount of smoking billowing from out of the attic has subsided substantially, but there's clearly still fire burning in the interior. In addition to Darien, Corfu and Alexander, companies from Alexander, Alden and Bennington are on scene. Route 5 remains closed, though 77 is open.

UPDATE 8:39 p.m.: All units back in service.

UPDATE: More pictures after the jump.

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Large amounts of smoke are reported behind a residence on Route 20, area of Asbury Road, in Pavilion.

The fire department is requested to the scene where furniture is possibly being burned behind the residence, according to dispatch.

UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): Fire personnel on scene verify it is a controlled burn of furniture and units are put back in service.

A grass fire, now deemed to be a controlled burn at the end of Coward Road, is reported -- nonemergency response requested from Byron, South Byron and Le Roy fire departments.

The area is south of the railroad tracks, east of the roadway, at 7404 Ivison Road.

The verified controlled burn means all units are back in service, standing down from this initial call.

The initial call was for a "couch on fire" at 5006 Ridge Road, Elba, but a chief on scene reports that actually, it's a riding mower outside the residence that is on fire.

Elba Fire is responding.

A motorcycle accident is reported between Pratt and Killian roads in East Pembroke.

A hand hip laceration is reported. Mercy EMS and East Pembroke fire are responding.

UPDATE (3:58 p.m.): Mercy Flight is requested. More manpower is requested to set up a landing zone in a hayfield located west of Killian and south of Slusher roads.

UPDATE (4:23 p.m.): Due to weather conditions, Mercy Flight is taking the patient to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

A fully involved farm tractor fire is reported at 5552 Cochran Cockram Road in Byron. It is in the middle of a field with no structures surrounding it.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are called to respond.

UPDATE (1:28 p.m.): The tractor fire is about a hundred yards from a house. The address is between Transit and Bank Street roads.

UPDATE (1:30 p.m.): The fire is knocked out but the fire units are requested to continue.

UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): A fireman reports that the fire has rekindled itself.

UPDATE (1:51 p.m.): The fire is reported to be completely out and the firefighters are leaving the scene.

A car fire was reported on the Thruway -- the car was being towed by an RV.

The RV driver was reportedly initially unaware of the fire.  He under did eventually pull over at the Batavia off-ramp.

An assistant chief from the Le Roy Fire Department was in the area and heard Town of Batavia Fire being dispatched. He responded and knocked down the fire, which was reportedly under the car.

The motorhome was reportedly traveling along the Thruway for some time with the driver apparently unaware of the car fire.

There is a reported extension of the fire into the console. The vehicle has been disconnected from the motorhome.