One resident of the Lakeview Avenue home that burned Tuesday evening was found dead inside an apartment, after initial reports indicated that everyone made it out safely.
The man's name was not released as of press time, and the cause of his death will be determined by an autopsy likely to be conducted at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo in the coming days.
"When we first arrived, we were told everyone made it out safely and a while into it, a woman became concerned when she couldn't find a loved one she thought was outside," said Bill Johnston, a battalion chief with the city fire department. "At that point we recanvassed the house with the information she provided and did find a man deceased inside."
With the body being found, the investigation will now directly involve the Jamestown Police Department, whose detectives will also help to determine the cause of the blaze.
The initial 911 call reported smoke coming from 4 Lakeview Ave. at 5:42 p.m., with all Jamestown Fire Department units dispatched to the scene. When crews approached the house and saw the thick black smoke consuming much of the eastern sky, an additional 21 firefighters were called to join them in duty.
"We basically have the entire department on the scene here fighting this," Johnston said around 7:15 p.m. "We are using six hose lines and we tapped three fire hydrants. With the size of the house and the volume of the flames, we are using everybody."
With almost the entire city fire department at the scene, the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department was requested to man Station 1 at City Hall in accordance with the mutual aid agreement. Battalion Chief Chet Harvey remained at Station 1 to keep it operating during the fire.
"We have a reserve engine and ladder truck, but they needed the second ladder truck at the scene," Harvey said. "That left us without equipment and Falconer was called to help us out."
During the blaze, the fire department suspended its response to EMS calls, which constitute a majority of its service calls.
"We leave those to the ambulance service (AlStar) when we have a fire like this," Harvey said. "But if AlStar is out of service, we will have to respond."
ALSTAR medics were also at the scene on standby, ready to handle any injuries resulting from the fire.
Firefighters remained at the scene well into the night, fighting pockets of flames and hotspots that would consistently pop up.
The house was built in 1900, according to the city assessor's office, and the balloon-style construction popular in the United States until the 1950s complicated the fire fight.
"The house had been remodeled many times and had a lot of void spaces," Johnston said. "The balloon framing which we see in many of the old houses allows the fire to jump from floor-to-floor, and that's what happened here."
When crews first arrived, there were heavy flames visible in the first-floor apartment in the front of the house as well as the shared open hallway, which leads to other apartments. Despite the quick actions of firefighters, the flames extended to the second and then third floors within minutes.
The homeowner said there were six apartments inside the structure and that the third floor was vacant at the time.
Citizens clogged the area around the fire as they gathered to watch the house burn just outside of the caution tape placed by city police officers. A large crowd of people ranging from toddlers to their adult parents gathered on the corner of Liberty Street and Lakeview Avenue, downwind of the smoke.
Several police officers tried to explain to parents standing with small children that the smoke from a fire is toxic and that breathing it in, especially when a child's lungs are developing, is a bad idea. A few people took the advice and stepped back while the great majority stood at the edge of the police barricade, children in hand, snapping pictures and talking on their cell phones.
Six American Red Cross, Southwestern New York Chapter disaster assistance teams were sent to help two families and two adults who lived in the apartment house with immediate emergency needs, including food, clothing and shelter.
Johnston said that to the best of his knowledge Tuesday evening, no firefighters sustained any major injuries in the battle.
