VIDEO, PHOTOS and STORY by JOHN ANDERSON
It appeared all of the families got out without injury after a fire ripped through the second floor of the multi-unit apartment house on 46 North Broad Street in Wellsville early Tuesday.
The fire was toned out after 3 a.m. today (Tuesday) and the roof was still burning on the side of the house around 4:15 p.m.
Video of the fire, story continues after video:
Colin Cook, who lives almost across the street and just returned home from graduating at Norwich University, alerted his family there was a fire and said he heard screaming.
Cook went into his home and brought out blankets for those who lived in the apartment complex and were watching the fire from the lawn of a neighbors house. Other neighbors were bringing out blankets and things to sit on as they waited for the Red Cross.
Wellsville Volunteer Firefighters knocked down the blaze as they hooked to hydrants and used water from the trucks, but the fire appeared to be trapped between the ceiling and the roof.
Village electric crews were on the scene to turn off power, which was a concern early on for firefighters with the power lines dangerously close to the flames.
Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading to the power lines and to neighboring homes. The Allegany County 911 center was dispatching units from all neighboring towns to the fire and for standby.
On April 22, firefighters were credited for stopping a fire that on West State Street that could have spread to the Quik Fill gas station.
The fire this morning was about 300 yards from the April 22 fire.
Here is a video of the fire from April 22:
Here is a link to the latest on the fire from West State Street. The person who jumped from the window, Mike Burdick, was expected home on Sunday from Strong Memorial Hospital.
