Five Rescued as NY Crews Battle Four-Alarm Fire

Five people were rescued through a front window after a four-alarm fire broke out at a two-story building in Rochester early Tuesday morning.

WHAM News reports that firefighters also rescued several pets and that crews pulled back into a defensive attack once everyone was safely removed from the building, which had residences on the second floor above commercial businesses on street level.

Rochester fire officials told WHAM that the call first came in around 2 a.m., and within twenty minutes a fourth alarm was struck with 15 crews comprised of about 75 firefighters eventually being called to the scene.

"The fire got in what we call the cockloft, which is known as the attic-area," Rochester Fire Lt. and PIO Ryan Fleming said. "It’s a small void space between the ceiling and the roof of the structure. The fire got in there, and once it gets in there, it’s very hard to get to that fire. It spreads very rapidly, in the void space, there’s lots of room for it to spread."

The fire was contained to the apartments on the upper floor, but the lower level sustained heavy water damage, leading officials to say that the structure will most likely be demolished.