NY Firefighters Tackle Massive Warehouse Blaze

One firefighter was injured as a flames engulfed a warehouse filled with pallets on Rochester's west side this afternoon.

Crews arrived to find pallets on fire outside the 52,000-square-foot building at 301 Otis Street around 5:30 p.m. and the fire quickly extended to the structure.

"It's a large warehouse and we've got heavy fire," spokesman Capt. David Abdoch said in a live stream from the scene. "All the firefighters are working their hardest right now to extinguish it. We're trying to do it safely."

The second and third alarms were struck minutes apart, with the fourth and fifth alarms called as crews set up all the city's aerial ladders and water supplies were needed to protect nearby homes from the intense flames. 

Abdoch said they were using multiple master streams with the ladder pipes.

Firefighters and police went door-to-door to ensure occupants of the threatened homes were able to escape, WHEC.com reported.

Three walls and the roof collapsed, according to WROC. 

Abdoch told the Democrat and Chronicle that the fire was brought under control after eight hours. Demolition equipment was utilized to remove any lingering threats from the damaged structure.

A sixth alarm was called for relief, bringing several suburban fire companies to the scene, fire officials said. 

The firefighter suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to the television station.