Blaze destroys Ferry St. property
Damage is pegged at $1.5 million after fire ripped through a vacant building on Ferry Street in Niagara Falls late Friday night.
A fire crew returning from a call nearby noticed heavy smoke billowing from the former site of Saks Furniture at about 11:15 p.m.
“As they came up, a dispatch came out that someone had called it in from the public,” said Tom Warman, a platoon chief with Niagara Falls Fire Department.
One firefighter sustained minor injuries after the ceiling of the building collapsed.
“The heavy smoke and fire pushed them back from the second floor then the ceiling began to collapse on them so they retreated and it wasn’t long before the fire broke through the roof,” Warman said.
Nearby residents were shocked at what they saw.
“I noticed a burning smell and went outside and there was a cloud of smoke across Main Street,” said Valentina Castano, who lives in the area.
“I was scared that electricity or gas lines were going to be cut because I could hear explosions.”
Tenants who lived in the buildings on either side of the property were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.
The empty two-storey building at 5623 Ferry St. near Main Street had been under renovation. It had been the home to Saks Furniture for 77 years before it closed in 2007.
Heavy equipment was brought in early Saturday to clear debris. The area remained closed to traffic Saturday morning.
“The whole east wall collapsed so we brought in the excavator to move everything back,” Warman said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation and the Office of the Fire Marshal has been called in to assist.