An apparent house explosion at mid-day Tuesday destroyed a 2 1/2-story, century-old structure on Lake Avenue.
There were no reported injuries or fatalities, officials said, but investigators were still working to complete a search of the wreckage. Lake Avenue was expected to remain closed until Tuesday evening between Driving Park Avenue and Ridgeway Avenue as officials worked to clear debris.
An investigation on the cause of the explosion will begin once the site is made stable.
"There's a bunch of things that could have led to something like this, but at this point it's too early to tell," said Rochester Fire Department Lt. Howard Villegas.
The four-bedroom rental home at 1128 Lake Ave. is in a residential stretch just south of Seneca Parkway. Only the first floor of the house remained standing on Tuesday afternoon, with the roof collapsed on top. The front of the house ended up sections on the yard.
Neighboring houses also were damaged.
"There was surprisingly little fire," Villegas said. "The structural members that were on fire were leaning up against the house, which is what led to the eventually a third alarm being called, but everyone is safe. We haven't received any report of any injuries, so we're pretty proud of that."
Chris Hirsch lives one house down from the explosion. He said he initially thought a car had crashed into the house.
"It kind of made a big rattle, like if you've ever been in an earthquake before, that's what it felt like," Hirsch said. "We walked outside and I was like, 'Oh, maybe it was a car' because we saw the debris in my neighbor's yard. And then, as we walked out further to see, we noticed the whole house next to it was completely gone."
The call came in shortly after noon on Tuesday, drawing a massive emergency response totaling 80 firefighters from across the city.
The house is owned by Q T International LLC, a San Francisco-based firm which purchased it in November 2021, according to city property records. The house has an active certificate of occupancy and no code violations.
