Fire departments responded once more almost a year later to downtown Falconer as fire broke out Sunday morning.

Smoke was seen for miles around billowing out of the Falconer Vac Shop building and a call was put out to emergency personnel at 11:15 a.m. The scene was eerily familiar because a fire broke out just two buildings away last year in March, taking down an entire section of Falconer’s buildings.

Fire departments responded from across the county, including Kennedy, Busti, Falconer, Jamestown, Kiantone, Gerry, Chautauqua and Randolph, among others. Police officers and other emergency personnel were also on the scene.

Falconer Mayor James Rensel said the fire is a tragedy. He said 11 people have been displaced by the fire thus far.

“We don’t know what started it yet, but I’m sure there will be an investigation,” Rensel said. “Most importantly, there was no one hurt, no one was trapped inside.”

Rensel said the community has already begun to come together due to the blaze.

He said Falconer Central School District Superintendent Stephen Penhollow and the president of the school board, Todd Beckerink, have helped by providing the school for the displaced families to take shelter in. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army are currently attending to them there.

While the fire is disheartening, he said, the village will make it through.

“It’s a sickening feeling,” Rensel said. “But, we’re resilient. We’ll take care of what needs to be taken care of.”

County Executive George Borrello was on the scene on Sunday. He said he hurried away from an event in Silver Creek to get there.

Borrello said the fire was surely heartbreaking, especially given the circumstances.

“Just being less than a year since the major fire that was here last year, this is certainly devastating for the village,” Borrello said. “Certainly, we’ll do anything we can at the county level to help out.”

He said the cause of the fire is unknown at the moment, but an investigation will be underway.

“The fire is obviously under control but still burning,” Borrello said.

Borrello said he had been told one firefighter had a minor injury, but had been taken to the hospital.

To maintain safety of the public, Borrello said people should try to avoid the area as best as possible.

“The best thing to do is stay away,” he said. “This is already a pretty crowded scene to begin with. I would tell people to please be respectful of our emergency services folks.”