Dec. 12—A wind-whipped fire ripped through a Buffalo neighborhood early Tuesday morning, destroying three buildings and damaging four nearby houses, fire officials said.
Two firefighters were injured in the three-alarm fire on Fougeron Street and Urban Avenue in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood. One suffered a shoulder injury and the other got debris in his eye, said Buffalo Fire Chief Daniel Bossi. No civilians were injured or needed to be rescued.
The fire was reported about 3:30 a.m. as winds gusted to about 30 mph on a blustery night.
"The first call we got was just for smoke in the area," Bossi said at the scene as firefighters continued to douse hot spots later Tuesday morning. "We came to investigate with just three pieces of equipment and upon their arrival we found three structures that were fully involved in flames."
The buildings were a garage and two carriage houses between Fougeron and Urban.
"Then wind-driven embers started four more houses on fire," Bossi said. Window frames, an attic and the second floor of one house caught fire but firefighters were able to get those flames under control, minimizing damage to the houses.
Investigators don't yet know what the cause of the fire was.
"We don't even know which building it started in originally because all three were going when we got there," Bossi said.
The garage and the carriage houses were slated for emergency demolition. Damage to those buildings was estimated to be about $500,000 combined. The exposure damage to the other houses were estimated at about $150,000.
Strong winds are expected through about 6 p.m. Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory, forecasting southwest winds with gusts up to 50 mph are expected in Northern Erie, Niagara, Orleans and Genesee counties.
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