Child Street fire remains under investigation
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — One firefighter and two other people were hurt in a fire Wednesday afternoon, in which a house on Child Street was engulfed in flames.
While the Rochester Fire Department hasn’t provided any updates as of 11 p.m., News10NBC saw the medical examiner’s van on the scene and people very upset, some carrying flowers and hugging one another.
Fire crews tell News10NBC on scene it was a house fire and crews got to the scene in three minutes. Rochester Fire Department Chief Stefano Napolitano says the size of the home and the temperatures make the fire hard to fight. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Da’Siah White says he was coming from a basketball game with his friend and was walking toward his car on Child Street when he saw smoke in the air and then flames shooting from the house. As he got closer, there was a woman screaming.
“She was just saying ‘my grandma, my grandma, she upstairs,’” White said.
White said his first instinct was to run inside and help. “We got out like we were superheroes to save the day. It didn’t happen. We felt the heat and we backed up– we immediately backed up actually,” he said.
White says then two minutes later he saw dozens of police officers, firefighters, and AMR ambulances surrounding the home. “My heart was beating– I was scared for her because I didn’t want nothing to happen to the grandma,” he said.
“If you were across the street, you felt like you were inside,” White said of the fire’s intense heat.
Although the medical examiner’s van was seen at the scene, Napolitano would not confirm whether anyone died in the fire. He did say people inside the house were hurt.
“We have two civilian injuries and one firefighter is being transported to the hospital with a firefighter injury,” Napolitano said.
Napolitano says when crews arrived on scene the flames were firing out of the home and it was intense. “Had heavy fire involvement on the front of the building- it’s a one and a half story wood frame structure — the porch was fully involved — the upper bedroom was fully involved,” he said.
Andrew Trammell, a neighbor, was driving home with his family when he saw smoke. The police tape blocked him from driving down Child Street. He says all the activity was frightening for his children.
“My kids when they see stuff like that — they’re like ‘dad, what’s going on — what’s happening, are they, are they okay?’ It would put anybody on edge if there’s a fire and you don’t know if they are okay,” Trammell said.
The Red Cross is assisting the adults and children who were in the home.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.
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6 p.m. broadcast:
Firefighter, 2 other people confirmed injured in Child Street fire
