MEDINA — The Medina Fire Department was dispatched at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday for a reported house fire at the corner of Starr and Orient streets in the Village of Medina.
Off-duty Fire Captain R.J. Morgan, who lives less than a block away, was on the scene within a minute of the alarm and reported a fully-involved two-story, wood-frame house at 212 Starr St. According to Public Information Officer Jeffrey Elsenheimer Jr., a large column of thick black smoke and flames shooting more than 20 feet into the air could be seen across the village and in surrounding communities.
Nearly a dozen 911 calls reporting the fire were received by the Orleans County Sheriffs Dispatch Center.
Also responding on the first alarm was the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company with an engine and the Lyndonville Fire Department with a Firefighter Assist and Search Team.
Considering the amount of fire and the fact that four neighboring houses were being impinged upon by the heavy fire conditions, a third alarm was immediately summoned. Responding companies included Ridgeway, Middleport and East Shelby to the scene and COVA and Albion Fire Department to standby at the Medina fire station. Albion was later special-called to the scene for assistance.
Medina firefighters were on-scene within minutes. Occupants of the neighboring homes were evacuated with the assistance of firefighters, while additional fire crews worked quickly to extend hoselines to protect the exposure buildings.
The property at 212 Starr St. quickly collapsed into a pile of debris while fire crews continued to douse it with water, according to Elsenheimer. An excavator from the Medina Department of Public Works was requested to the scene to remove the debris so firefighters could ensure that the fire was extinguished.
Properties at 702, 704 and 706 Orient St. and 208 Starr St. all received some heat damage to the exterior of the buildings and some smoke and water damage to their interiors, but crews successful prevented fire from extending into all four structures.
212 Starr St. was an inhabited structure; however, the lone resident was not home at the time of the fire, said Elsenheimer.
No civilians or firefighters were injured.
Fire investigators from the Orleans County Emergency Management Office assisted at the scene. The cause of the fire has not been released at this time. Fire investigators believe the fire spread rapidly through the home because the tenant was using propane tanks to fuel a heater in his residence. At least one 100-pound propane tank and several smaller tanks were located among the ruins.
County fires considered suspicious
In Albion, two fires occurred late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
According to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department, the first fire occurred around 11 p.m. at 343 S. Clinton St. in the Village of Albion. The second fire occurred around 4 a.m. at 2692 Center Road in the Town of Murray.
Both structures sustained significant damage and the sheriff’s department said they are being considered “suspicious.” The cause of the fires are still under investigation.
Sheriff Scott Hess said that so far, the only link between the two structures is that they were both unoccupied dwellings.
The sheriff’s office, Albion Police Department, the Genesse and Orleans County Offices of Emergency Management and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control are continuing to look into these incidents.
