Rochester fire kills man & two young girls. Firefighters couldn’t get to the apartment they were in. Fireground audio, video & pictures.

Video above by Guy Zampatori at Monroe County Fire Wire. Click here for more video.

Fireground audio & pictures from Guy Zampatori at Monroe County Fire Wire

Photo gallery by Chad Roberts

More on the fire from Chad Roberts’ blog While Rochester Slept

Article by Chad Roberts and Alan Morrell at DemocratandChronicle.com:

One adult male and two young girls died in an early morning two-alarm fire on North Goodman Street on Rochester’s east side.

The fire, in a building at 533 North Goodman St. that had business space on the lower floor and apartments above and behind, was reported about 12:40 this morning. By the time firefighters arrived, the building was fully engulfed. By the time a second alarm was called, part of the building had collapsed. A part of North Goodman Street from East Main Street to Garson Avenue was still closed to traffic at 11:30 this morning. Demolition of the building was starting late this morning.

For most of the time the fire was being fought, Rochester Fire Chief John Caufield was confident that the building was clear of occupants, but the situation changed when fire officials received “credible” information that there might still be people inside the building.

Deputy Chief Scotty Williams said that upon arrival, firefighters were able to search two apartments, but could not reach a third due to heavy fire conditions.

Williams said that firefighters could hear a working smoke detector in the third apartment that could not be searched before firefighters were pulled from the building for their safety.

People who lived in the neighborhood who were watching the fire were worried for the fate of people that lived in the building, and fire officials continued interviews throughout the morning trying determine the whereabouts of several adults and children.

“After we got the bulk of the fire knocked down, we had concerns that there still may be people in the building,” said Executive Deputy Chief Sam Mitrano. “We did another search of the building, and we got into areas where we had heavy fire damage and the collapse of the roof into the second-floor ceiling. Upon doing so, we did come across the fact that we do have a fatality at this fire tonight.”

“Fire Investigation is up there sifting through the rubble now to try and ascertain exactly what we’ve got,” Mitrano said.

He described the search as a difficult one.

“We’ve got a lot of rubble to dig through,” Mitrano said. “It is three-feet deep in some places. A lot of heavy timber from the roof structure. It is a painstaking effort at this point to go through by hand and take all that stuff out.”

While firefighters were still working on the fire late this morning, Caufield spoke with media. He said that the adult male and two young girls were found dead inside the rear corner of a second-floor apartment.

“This is another Christmas (-time) tragedy,” he said. “There are far too many of them in this community.” He was referring to tragic fires in past years during the holiday season.

Caufield said the cause of the fire has not been determined, but he said there was “absolutely no indication” that it was suspicious. He said the damage was extreme and said the fire likely was burning for quite some time before anyone noticed. The fire appears to have started in the apartment where the victims were found, Caufield said.

Firefighters got to the house within two minutes after they were called, the chief said. “This fire had a significant headstart before anyone called 911,” Caufield said. “The roof collapsed so quickly after they arrived, which is highly unusual. There was a tremendous amount of fire, much of it over (firefighters’) heads. It gives you pause to say, ‘What else is going on here?'”

Caufield said the rapid spread of the fire indicated “serious problems” at the building, a house with two storefronts that had been attached to it. “This was way outside our normal course of events,” Caufield said. The businesses have been vacant for a long time, he said. Building construction and renovations over the years may have contributed to fire-related problems, he said.

The fire was so intense, and the collapsing roof so dangerous, that firefighters were pulled from the building after making a quick, initial search, the fire chief said.

“Every year, you hope and you pray that you don’t face this situation,” he said. “My heart goes out to the survivors of the victims.”

Caufield said investigators will be looking at electrical issues as well as “cooking issues” as possible causes.