There was a massive fire following an explosion in the Town of Gates early Wednesday evening. It happened just after 6:00 p.m. on Noel Dr., near Lyell Rd. and flattened a house there.
Neighbors from some distance away reported hearing or feeling the explosion, and seeing the fireball in the sky.
Gates fire officials say the fire spread to two other houses on the street. Before the on-duty firefighters got there, an off-duty firefighter was able to evacuate those other two homes and officials say his swift action saved the lives of people living there.
The incident became a four alarm fire, involving more than 10 fire districts from the greater Rochester area and more than 120 firefighters.
Gates fire officials say that the person who owned the home that was destroyed was located safe and away from the location when the explosion happened. There were no injuries to people in the neighborhood or to the responding firefighters.
Officials say that while the cause of the fire is under investigation and could continue for several days, fighting the fire was difficult because of a free-flowing gas line that fed the property, and that made it tough for firefighters to conduct searches through the debris and to contain the fire.
The fire was reported under control before 8:00 p.m.
Spectrum News photojournalist Jeff Hamson tweeted some of the video he captured at the scene:
On scene of a massive house fire in Gates... look like a possible explosion. One house looks completely gone. #ROC #GatesNY @SPECNewsROC pic.twitter.com/eJNvUzwPQ1
— Jeff Hamson (@ROC_NewsPhotog) December 9, 2020
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