BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Investigators are looking into what caused a four-alarm fire on Howard Street, in Buffalo, Tuesday evening.
Firefighters were on Howard Street two hours prior to the four-alarm blaze for a car fire. They were called back at 3:30 p.m. and found an industrial building up in flames.
“I was picking my daughter up from the bus and there was nothing but smoke,” said Jonathon Harkness, a Howard Street resident. “And we were coughing and choking, so I told her to get in the house.”
“Our fire marshals are here again doing their investigation we hope to get to the bottom of the cause and origin of the fire,” said Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield.
The fire sent thick, heavy smoke into the air. Viewers report spotting the smoke from I-190.
Commissioner Whitfield told News 4 it was a difficult fire to get under control and 22 fire crews were on scene.
There was drama before the fire even began. A different kind of fire of sorts, kindling between the building’s new owner and the people who’d been using it for glass storage for years.
“Yeah I’m worried it’s an arson, he told me he was going to burn it down,” said Lauren Kashino who’s father using the building for storage.
“Who told you that?” asked News 4 reporter Emily Guggenmos.
“Robbie, he said if I can’t have it, nobody can have it,” said Kashino.
The building’s owner Robbie Said responded “Never, no threats. These officers came to my building before and asked them to leave my building.”
While Said says it wasn’t him, he also suspects arson. “I think there’s some foul play involved somehow because I just left my building when the fire marshal left earlier when the car was extinguished,” said Said.
The 33,000-square-foot warehouse is a total loss. At one point the fire spread to power lines nearby.
“We work very well with the utility companies. They were out here, they did cut the power at the time of the collapse of the power lines,” said Commissioner Whitfield. “Now our power is out in the whole block,” said Harkness.
Thick smoke covered the neighborhood as the day worked into the evening. The building being demolished piece by piece. “I’m in such shock. I don’t know what to do,” said Kashino.
“[It was a] very difficult fire. Lots of equipment, we have water issues because there are so many pieces of equipment here. Intensive manpower, heavy appliances, lots of smoke and we have the public here trying to make sure they’re safe,” said Whitfield.
A witness said her father used the building for storage, it’s where he stored glass for their auto-detailing business. According to that witness on the scene, it’s a 33,000 square-foot warehouse.
No one was injured in the fire.
