Rochester Fire Department Current News Provided by Democrat & Chronicle

Two displaced after kitchen fire in Rochester apartment
January 7, 2009

City firefighters early today battled a kitchen fire in northwest Rochester.

Firefighters were called to 145 Bennington Drive about 2:45 a.m., to battle a kitchen fire, said Battalion Fire Chief Tim Young of the Rochester Fire Department.

Deputy Chief Bill Curran said the grease fire was caused by unattended cooking and that the fire was contained to the kitchen. It took about 20 minutes to control the fire.

No injuries were reported, but emergency responders transported a pregnant woman to Highland Hospital for evaluation, Young said.

The fire was in a first-floor apartment in the two-story building, Young said. The building contains four apartments; one of the four was vacant. The involved apartment sustained moderate fire damage in the kitchen.

The blaze displaced two people in the involved apartment. The American Red Cross of Greater Rochester is assisting the pair. The other tenants were able to return to their apartments.

Firefighters extinguish two-alarm fire on Driving Park Ave.
January 6, 2009

City firefighters this morning battled a two-alarm house fire in the northwest Rochester.

About 9:20 a.m. firefighters were called to 272 Driving Park Ave. where they found smoke and flames rising from a 2 ½-story house, according to Monroe County emergency dispatchers.

“As we were pulling up, we saw smoke in the sky and we knew we had a fire,” said Deputy Chief Martin McMillan of the Rochester Fire Department. All residents in the house escaped safely; no injuries were reported.

The first firefighters at the scene encountered significant fire in the residence, which it appeared had started in the first floor and spread upstairs to the second floor and attic, McMillan said. There was also a “considerable” amount of smoke in the house, he said.

It took firefighters about 40 minutes to control the fire, dispatchers said. There was heavy fire and smoke damage throughout the house, which contained two apartments, McMillan said.

The American Red Cross of Greater Rochester was called to the scene to assist the residents — three adults and seven children, firefighters said.

The blaze temporarily closed a portion of Driving Park Avenue this morning. The road was reopened by 11:30 a.m., though some firefighters continued to work at the scene, dispatchers said.

Fire officials are investigating, to determine the cause, McMillan said.

House shot at twice last week catches fire this morning
December 30, 2008

City firefighters this morning battled a suspicious fire in a house on Trafalgar Street that had been shot at twice in the past week.

Firefighters were called to 202 Trafalgar St., just after 3:30 a.m. and controlled the fire by 4 a.m. No one was home when the fire broke out, said Deputy Chief Martin McMillan of the Rochester Fire Department. Heavy smoke conditions were apparent when firefighters arrived at the single-family house.

One firefighter burned his wrist while fighting the fire and was taken to Highland Hospital, where he was treated and released, McMillan said. No other injuries were reported.

It appeared that the fire started in a dining room on the first floor of the house, and spread up to a second-floor bedroom, he said. The dining room sustained heavy fire damage and the remainder of the house sustained heavy smoke and heat damage, he said.

The fire came just four days after someone fired several rounds into the rear of the house about 12:15 a.m., and into the front of the house around 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Rochester Police. No injuries were reported in either shooting.

Firefighters this morning are investigating, to determine the cause of today’s fire.

City firefighters battle 2-alarm fire
December 29, 2008

Rochester firefighters this morning battled a two-alarm fire at a vacant home on Central Park.

Firefighters were called to 450 Central Park, where a fire was reported about 5:45 a.m., according to Monroe County emergency dispatchers.

No injuries were reported.

It took more than 40 minutes for firefighters to control a bulk of the blaze, said Deputy Chief Ron Mendoler of the Rochester Fire Department. As of 7:30 a.m., flames were still visible. He said firefighters fought the fire without entering the burning house because of “the advanced hold the fire had on the structure.”

Mendolera said it was too early to identify the cause, but noted the fire was considered suspicious. He said the house was boarded up.

Mendolera said the 2 1/2-story house was heavily damaged and is about ready to fall down. A demolition crew was called this morning, to raze the house sometime today.

City fire investigators are at the scene. Police and fire officials blocked traffic in the area to tend to the fire.

Further details of the incident were not immediately available.

Firefighter hurt in city blaze
December 28, 2008

A firefighter was burned while battling a fire on Winterroth Street in northeast Rochester early Saturday, fire officials said.

The fire was called in about 6 a.m. at 68 Winterroth, a 2½-story home, said Deputy Chief Scotty Williams. There was extensive damage to the first floor and front exterior.

A firefighter was taken to the hospital with a second-degree burn to the hand, Williams said.

The fire was under control in 20 minutes. The home is uninhabitable.

The Red Cross is helping the occupants of the home, two adults and four children, said Liz Hill, director of communications for the Rochester chapter.

Vacant house burns on Garson Avenue
December 28, 2008

The Rochester Fire Department is investigating what has been deemed an intentionally set fire Sunday morning on Garson Avenue.

Just after 3 a.m., firefighters responded to a call of smoke in the area of Grand Avenue and found a fire burning on both floors of a two-story home at 366 Garson Avenue. Firefighters were able to control the flames within 25 minutes.

The house is divided into two living units, but no one was living there. Department officials say the fire was intentionally set and are continuing to investigate. No one was injured.

City fires keep crews busy last night
December 22, 2008

Rochester firefighters last night battled two fires in the city, including a house fire that firefighters believe was intentionally set.

Firefighters were called to 357 Wilkins St. about 10:30 p.m. and found a 2 ½-story house on fire, said Deputy Chief Scotty Williams of the Rochester Fire Department. One person in the house escaped safely before firefighters arrived, he said.

Williams said it took firefighters about 30 minutes to control the fire.

One firefighter injured his shoulder while on the roof, Williams said. The firefighter was treated by paramedics from Rural/Metro ambulance service. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated and released, Williams said.

Williams said firefighters believe the fire was intentionally set and are investigating the blaze.

The house sustained significant fire damage to the front corner of the structure, on the second floor and the attic, Williams said.

Earlier in the evening, about 8:30 p.m., firefighters were called to battle another house fire at 165 Reynolds St. No injuries were reported.

The 2 ½-story house is a rental property, but no tenants were living in the house when the fire broke out, Williams said.

First responders found fire rising from the rear of the house, from the first floor to the second floor, he said. It took about 30 minutes to control the fire, Williams said.

The first floor of the house sustained heavy fire damage, the second floor sustained moderate fire damage.

Firefighters are investigating, to determine the cause.

Williams said firefighters do not think the two fires were linked.

3 displaced, dog dies in Whitney Street fire
December 17, 2008

A dog died in a fire last night in northwest Rochester.

The fire at 232 Whitney St. started about 9:15 p.m. and was under control in about 25 minutes.

“We had extensive fire damage, heat and smoke throughout, also water damage,” said Ron Mendolera, deputy chief of the Rochester Fire Department. He added that the 2 ½-story house is now uninhabitable.

No other injuries were reported. The family of three who lived in the house escaped safely before firefighters arrived at the scene.

It appeared that the fire started on the first floor near the front porch and spread to the second floor and exterior eves of the structure.

Firefighters are investigating, to determine that cause.

The American Red Cross of Greater Rochester is providing assistance to the family, a woman and her two sons.

Fire damages vacant home on Wilder Street
December 16, 2008

A fire caused heavy damage to the second floor of a boarded-up home in the city, according to Rochester Deputy Chief Ron Mendolera.

Firefighters were called to at 49 Wilder Street about 6:20 a.m. and had the fire under control within 20 minutes.

After removing the boards and searching the 2 ½-story home, they found no signs of anyone living there, Mendolera said.

There were no injuries to firefighters.

Because the home is vacant, it is considered a suspicious fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

High-rise fire displaces 18 in Rochester
December 15, 2008


An early morning high-rise fire in the city displaced 18 people and sent one Rochester police officer to the hospital Sunday.

Officer Gerardo Vasquez was "recovering and doing well" Sunday afternoon said Rochester Police Capt. Kevin Costello. Vasquez was the first responder on the scene at St. Simon's Terrace, a 256-unit apartment building at 360 St. Paul St., when the fire was reported about 5:15 a.m.

Vasquez got caught between two floors in one of the building's elevators for 20 to 25 minutes and suffered smoke inhalation, said Chief John Caufield of the Rochester Fire Department. Three residents also suffered smoke inhalation and were treated at area hospitals.

Rochester Fire Deputy Chief Bill Curran said use of the elevator was just one of four basic fire safety rules broken that made the fire's impact worse than it should have been.

He said there was evidence that tenants tried to fight the fire themselves, that they left the apartment door open when fleeing the fire, and that a stairwell door was propped open. Curran said the latter two allowed the fire access to the hallway and more oxygen.

"Those (actions) made the situation much worse than it needed to be," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rochester Police Capt. Todd Baxter said Vasquez saw smoke and fire billowing out of the fifth floor and people trapped on a balcony there. He was attempting to assist those people, Baxter said, and apparently got on the elevator.

When the elevator doors opened, smoke poured in and crews lost contact with Vasquez after he made distress calls for almost five minutes, Baxter said. Vasquez eventually was pulled from the elevator car unconscious on the fourth floor.

Neither Curran nor Costello could explain why Vasquez, a veteran police officer, used the elevator during the fire.

There is no entrance to either of the building's stairwells from the lobby on the ground floor. The ground floor stairwell entrances are located on the outside of the building. The doors are not marked from the outside as stairwell entryways.

Paul Rosa, the building's maintenance supervisor, said the doors are locked from the outside of the building unless the facility's fire alarms have been activated. Rosa did not know if the alarms had been tripped by the time Vasquez arrived.

Curran said it is unusual for a building like St. Simon Terrace to have no stairwell entrances from the lobby.

He said the cause of the fire, which started on the 10-story building's fifth floor, is still under investigation.

"One of the tenants said it was a stove fire, but we are leaving it undetermined at this point," he said. "We still have to talk to a couple of victims and they still suffer from smoke inhalation."

On the fifth floor, heavy smoke damage blackened the walls and by 2 p.m. crews were suctioning water from the carpets. Both the fourth and fifth floors had water damage. Both elevator cars were blackened inside and an acrid smell filled the building. According to certificates in the elevators, the last inspections of the cars are valid until Feb. 28, 2009.

Curran said the only structural damage was in the apartment where the fire started. The fire was under control by 6:19 a.m. and about 9 a.m. authorities started giving permission to residents who were evacuated from the building to go back to their apartments, Curran said.

Curran said 18 of them were temporarily displaced and the Red Cross was assisting 12 with lodging. The others were staying with family or friends, said Liz Hill, spokesperson for the Red Cross.

Among those is Tanya Gause, 38, who lived across the hall from the apartment where the fire started. Soon after the fire alarm started ringing, smoke began seeping into her apartment, she said.

"It started coming in through the cracks. I thought I was going to die," she said.

When she opened her door, thick, black smoke poured in, so she shut it and called 911. Gause said she was instructed to place a wet towel under her door and wait for a rescue. Soon two firefighters arrived and they led Gause and her 19-year-old daughter, Dezmonique Noble, through the smoke and down the stairwell to safety. The women covered their faces with wet towels to make it through the smoke-filled hallway.

One floor down, Vandora Judge, 52, saw smoke in the hall and sprang into action.

"I went banging on every door on the fourth floor to let them know there was a fire," Judge said. "If they didn't answer I went back and banged harder."

She eventually escaped down the stairwell with a few neighbors, including one who has severely limited mobility due to arthritis.

Perry Pearsall, 48, lives on the ninth floor and he was one of several residents who retreated to the building's balconies to wave for help when smoke filled the building's hallways.

"I couldn't see, I couldn't breath," Pearsall said. "I went out on the balcony and waved hoping they would see me."

Eventually they did and like Gause he was escorted out of the building by a firefighter.

St. Simon's Terrace, with 224,000 square feet available for apartments and townhouses, is operated and managed by the Landsman Development Corp. Landsman Chief Executive Officer James Goff said in August that the company planned $8 million in renovations to the complex. The goal has been to have the renovations completed by fall 2009.Goff could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

4 injured in 4-alarm high-rise fire; cop is rescued from elevator
December 14, 2008

Officials have named the police officer injured in a high-rise apartment fire this morning.

Rochester Police Officer Gerry Vasquez, who was trapped in an elevator for 20 to 25 minutes and was found unconscious suffering from smoke inhalation, has regained consciousness and is "doing OK," said Rochester Police Lt. Wayne Harris.

Harris said Vasquez is at Strong Memorial Hospital. Vasquez' condition was unavailable; hospital officials said this morning that there was no patient with that name listed.

Rochester firefighters rescued Vasquez from a smoke-filled elevator car while battling a four-alarm fire at the St. Simon's Terrace housing complex downtown.

The fire was first reported at the high-rise building at 360 St. Paul St. about 5:15 a.m. Three residents of the complex were treated at area hospitals for smoke inhalation.

Rochester Police Capt. Todd Baxter said that Vasquez was a
first responder on scene, at about 5:18 a.m.

“He saw smoke and fire billowing out of the fifth floor, and also people trapped on the balcony of the fifth floor,” Baxter said. “The officer made a decision to try and assist those people out of the building. He apparently went up in an elevator.

"As soon as the elevator doors first came open, he was overcome with smoke. At about 5:26, he called on our frequency that he was trapped, being overcome by smoke.

“We immediately coordinated with responding fire department units, particularly Quint 6. (Firefighters) did a phenomenal job, going straight up the south-side doors and toward our officer."

Chief John Caufield of the Rochester Fire Department said that the injured police officer was removed from the elevator car on the fourth floor.

“It was quite a difficult rescue. The car was kind of between floors,” Caufield said. “It was quite a technical rescue. It probably took 20 minutes to get him out from the time that he reported that he was trapped in the car and somebody heard it.”

Caufield said elevators are a bad place to be during a fire.

“We advise anybody and everybody — first responders or not — to not use an elevator when there is a fire or a report of a fire,” Caulfield said. “That’s not safe practice. But things happened and the officer was well-trained. I’m sure he made an educated decision — knew he was in trouble and called for help. As far as I’m concerned, how he ended up there is irrelevant.”

Baxter said it was an emotional few minutes for fellow police officers on scene.

“It was devastating for us to hear it and devastating for his peers that work with him,” Baxter said. “We lost contact after he called for distress — lost contact for almost five minutes on the radio. We could not raise him. We were just hoping for our brothers from the Rochester Fire Department to do their thing, get up there as quick as possible -- which they did for us, obviously.”

An apartment on the fifth floor was completely destroyed by fire, and there is significant smoke damage and some water damage on the fifth floor as well as some damage to the sixth floor, officials said.

Several residents of the 256-unit complex watched the action from their balconies on floors above the fire floors, shielding their faces from the smoke that billowed up their way.

“One of the tactics that we use in a high-rise building, because it is so difficult it would overwhelm us — not only from a firefighter standpoint but an accountability standpoint — is we shelter people in places,” Caufield said. “If they are not immediately in harm’s way, we will leave them in their apartment and have them close their door. We will check on them and will advise them to ‘just stay here.’ We did that with a majority of the building.”

Caufield said by doing this, it helps firefighters keep tabs on where everybody is.

“That allows us to do a more systematic, apartment-by-apartment assessment” of conditions, Caufield said. “We employed that early on in the fire.”
There is no doubt that fighting a fire in a high-rise complex presents significant challenges, the chief said.

“Fortunately, we don’t have a lot of significant fires in our high-rise buildings,” Caufield said. “When they do happen, we call a lot of help fast. ... A fire like this does not go out like many of our fires do. This fire was burning pretty substantially in excess of 20 to 30 minutes.”

At 6:45 a.m., about two dozen of the apartment’s residents were gathered in a community room on the ground floor of the building sipping coffee and eating doughnuts delivered by the Red Cross. As volunteers handed out food and blankets, residents talked about what transpired upstairs and wondered when they’d be able to return home.

Tanya Gause, 38, said she lives across the hall from where the fire started and soon after the fire alarm started ringing, smoke began seeping into her apartment.

“It started coming in through the cracks. I thought I was gonna die,” she said.

When she opened her door thick, black smoke poured in, so she shut it and called 911. Gause said she was instructed to place a wet towel under her door and wait for a rescue. Soon two firefighters arrived and they led Gause and her 19-year-old daughter, Dezmonique Noble, through the smoke and down the stairwell to safety. The women covered their faces with wet towels to make it through the smoke-filled hallway.

Caufield said that most residents of the St. Simon's complex will be able to move back into their apartments fairly quickly. He added that it was too early to determine the cause of the fire, which was declared under control at 6:19 a.m.

Investigators were on scene this morning and residents of the complex will be interviewed to help discover a cause, officials said.

St. Simon’s Terrace, with 224,000 square feet available for apartments and townhouses, is operated and managed by the Landsman Development Corp. Landsman Chief Executive Officer James Goff said in August that the company planned $8 million in renovations to the complex. The goal has been to have the renovations completed by fall 2009.

Five people overcome by fumes from generator in house
December 13, 2008

Three children and two adults were taken to an area hospital by ambulance early Saturday morning after being overcome by fumes from a generator being run in the basement of a house at 76 Sidney St. in Rochester.

The incident occurred about 12:30.

Capt. Jim McGowan of the Rochester Fire Department said that the family had apparently moved into the house recently.

"Evidently, they were scheduled to have the power turned on (Saturday), and they couldn't wait," McGowan said. "If they went to bed, they would not have woken up, there's no doubt about that. They are fortunate. I think they were only in there for a matter of minutes before they started getting sick."

McGowan said that there were very high readings of carbon monoxide in the house.

"Our meters basically pegged out at one point," he said. "It is just another good reminder for people -- in this type of weather, you can't run a generator in or near a house, or you could be overcome by CO."

Tacoma Street fire displaces residents
December 11, 2008

A house in northwest Rochester is no longer livable after a fire this morning caused heavy damage, leaving an infant and six other people homeless.

Emergency responders were called to 49 Tacoma St. about 7:30 a.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke rising from the two-story, two-family house, said Deputy Chief Ron Mendolera of the Rochester Fire Department.

No injuries were reported. Mendolera said the residents who were home when the fire started all escaped safely before firefighters arrived at the scene.

It took firefighters about 20 minutes to control the fire, and they were able to contain it before it spread to the second floor. The first floor sustained heavy fire damage, and the entire structure had heavy smoke and heat damage, Mendolera said. He said the structure is no longer livable.

Officials from the American Red Cross of Greater Rochester were called to assist seven people who lived in the two apartments. According to Red Cross officials, two adults and an infant lived upstairs and two adults and two teenage girls lived in the first-floor unit.

Mendolera said it appeared that the fire started in a first-floor bedroom or living room. Firefighters are investigating to determine the cause.

Tacoma is a residential road just off Lexington Avenue, about two blocks west of Lake Avenue.

Fire guts parts of city house
December 8, 2008

Rochester fire officials are investigating a fire that broke out in a city house Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to 184 Atkinson St. about 3 p.m. for a house fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found the kitchen and other areas of the unoccupied house in flames. The fire was brought under control in about 10 minutes, said Capt. Bart Joseph.

Joseph said it was determined that the fire started in the kitchen area but that a cause is not yet known. The fire is still under investigation.