Fire scorches Buell street
By JOHN ZICK CORNING LEADER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BATH VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Bath volunteer firefighters hose down a Buell Street house in an effort to contain flames from a burning barn. There were no injuries, although residents of the home had to be evacuated and the Red Cross called for assistance.

BATH - No one was injured Thursday when an early morning blaze gutted a two-story barn and damaged an apartment house on Buell Street in the village.

The cause had not been determined as of Thursday afternoon. But Mike Sprague, the director of the Steuben County Office of Emergency Services, said the blaze was one of a handful of "interesting" fires recently reported in the area.

"They've all been careless in one form or another," Sprague said. "You have to be kind of careful about speculating (what caused the blaze). They may not necessarily be intentional ... just careless."

Thursday morning's blaze, reported at approximately 2:20 a.m., destroyed a two-story barn located behind the residence at 30 Buell St. Sprague said he wasn't sure if the barn was wired for electricity.

The barn was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

Later, the blaze spread to the attic and the rear second-floor of the apartment house.

One tenant had to be awakened and evacuated. Four others escaped the blaze. In all, five people from three different apartments evacuated the building, Bath fire officials said.

The blaze was so intense it melted the siding of a nearby structure.

"(Fire crews) did a pretty good job keeping it to only one other structure," Sprague said.

The barn was used like a garage, Sprague said. There were no animals inside.

Fire crews from Hammondsport, the Bath VA, Kanona, Pulteney and Avoca provided mutual aid. The Bath Volunteer Ambulance Corps. also responded to the scene.

The Red Cross assisted some of the victims.