Credit Dave Seeley / Town of Irondequoit
A massive fire did what is being described as millions of dollars in damage to the Irondequoit Department of Public Works building late Saturday night.
Town Supervisor Dave Seeley told the D & C that firefighters found a fire in the roof when they got there at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.
It quickly spread and all five Irondequoit fire departments responded. Firefighters from neighboring towns were called in to assist.
The building houses the town’s fleet of highway department vehicles including snow plows and sanitation trucks.
Seeley told the D & C that about 25 vehicles are stored in the building and some of them were lost in the fire.
The building is adjacent to the town hall and library, but the flames did not reach those buildings.
There were no reported injuries. Seeley says the equipment and building are insured but he was mainly concerned about the safety of the firefighters who remained on the scene into the morning.
The DPW building is a 100 year old structure. "It's terrible to have to see this happen, but more terrible to have to see our firefighters spend their Christmas Eve doing this," Seeley told Time Warner Cable News. "Many of our firefighters are actually highway department workers so it's ironic that they're working here. They certainly know the building and this building means a lot to them."
The Red Cross also helped first responders at the fire scene.
Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo issued a statement saying that, "I’ve already spoken with the heads of Monroe County DOT, our Department of Environmental Services and our Public Safety Department and ordered them to do everything in their power to help provide uninterrupted service to the residents of the Town of Irondequoit. Monroe County stands ready to provide our support in any way possible.”
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Christmas Eve Blaze Seriously Damages Irondequoit Town Building
By Wendy Mills
Updated Sunday, December 25, 2016 at 01:53 PM EST
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. -- Firefighters in Irondequoit and some neighboring towns spent Christmas Eve battling a large fire to part of the town's Department of Public Works located on the town hall campus.
Irondequoit's town supervisor says the fire destroyed eight to nine vehicles including some snow plow trucks and a sanitation truck.
A section of Irondequoit's Department of Public Works building on Kings Highway North at the town hall campus caught fire around 10 p.m. Saturday night.
Flames and heavy smoke could be seen shooting from the building that stores town vehicles for plowing and sanitation. There were a few explosions most likely from fuel tanks ignited by the fire. Portions of the building collapsed.
The town says the building was about 85 years old. Most of the town's fleet was located in the other half of the DPW and is not damaged. The building is adjacent to the Irondequoit Town Hall and the new Public Library. The fire did not reach those structures.
Irondequoit Town Supervisor, Dave Seeley, says eight to nine vehicles were stored inside the town building and are a total lost.
Fire crews from Greece, Brighton, Rochester and others helped get the fire under control and extinguished. Crews also worked to make sure the cell tower, that is crucial to emergency communication, was not damaged.
Seeley says it is not damaged and power was maintained throughout.
The town says its focus is to maintain vital day to day operations.
"A lot of the services we take for granted," said Seeley. "It's maintaining our infrastructure, it's making sure our sewers are clear and of course with this time of year it's snow removal. We will still have a great workforce that is committed to doing a great job. We just have to make sure that we are doing what we can to put them in short order. We want to reassure residents that we are committed to maintaining the vital services the department supplies."
Supervisor Seeley says the operations center or dispatch was located in the damaged section of the building but will likely be moved temporarily to camp Eastman. He says the vehicles are all insured but it will take some time to sort through getting them replaced.
No one was injured.
The cause of the fire in under investigation.