Published: July 25, 2008 01:37 am            

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Fire destroys home on Minard Street

No one was injured in a fire that engulfed a Minard Street home Thursday afternoon, but the building was gutted by the flames.

The blaze broke out at 83 Minard St. about 4:15 p.m.

Joseph Tabone, who lives across the street, said he heard sirens and looked outside to see flames coming from the back of the two-story red house.

“I came out, and a police car came flying down,” Tabone said.

Another neighbor called 911, Tabone said, and soon the street was filled with City of Lockport fire trucks and police cars.

Smoke billowed from the roof, and a large crowd gathered on Minard Street to watch as firefighters worked to put out the flames.

No one was home at the time, but neighbors said two cats may have been inside when the fire broke out.

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Seeloff said when fire crews arrived, the back of the house was fully engulfed.

“There were flames shooting out of the porch and the kitchen window,” Seeloff said.

Crews knocked the fire down from the outside, then moved inside the home, where the fire had spread to the second floor and the attic, he said.

“I had the guys get the ladder to the roof and cut a hole up by the chimney to try to keep the fire in check,” Seeloff said. “That also helps to cool the inside of the building.”

Even after the blaze was under control, firefighters went through the house looking for hot spots behind walls and under the eaves on the porch and roof.

Lockport Police Capt. Jeffrey Brodsky praised the fire crews for their “rapid response.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“They have more questions than answers right now,” Brodsky said.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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