Main Street Fire
alt alt alt alt alt alt By MATT LEADER, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it A structure fire at 155 Main Street in the Village of Mount Morris on Tuesday night caused extensive damage and has left homeowners Elizabeth and Robert Stevens, for the time being at least, homeless. The Mount Morris Fire Department received a call of a porch fire at around 7 p.m., said Dean Smith, chief of the department's Active Hose Company. “Their covered porch, it totally took that out,” Smith said Wednesday. “It got up into the walls, went up into the attic. There's a lot of smoke damage in the house.” Though the fire took somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to bring under control, Mount Morris and surrounding fire companies were battling flare ups for much longer. “Up in the attic area, they had a lot of clothes and different stuff up there,” said Smith. “We were up in there and it kept flaring up. We had to keep working in there until we finally (put) everything out.” In addition to Mount Morris' fire department, crews from Leicester, Cuylerville, Nunda and Dansville responded to the scene. The Red Cross is assisting the Stevens with accommodations. “They put them up down in the Country Inn and Suites,” said Smith. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Weather complicates situation Upon his arrival at the scene, Smith said he was worried that Tuesday night's high winds would cause the fire to spread to nearby structures. “When we first got there, the structure to the left of it, with the way the wind was blowing plus they had a garage back there, so that was a concern,” he said. “We were worried about that a little bit so we got that knocked down quick.” Although it didn't affect any equipment, Tuesday night's bitterly cold temperatures were an added obstacle. “We had no problems with the trucks, things freezing or anything like that,” said Smith. “But it's always concerning when it gets that cold.” There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire, though a trio of ambulances were present at the scene to provide “rehab” services for firefighters. “That's for the guys who go inside, when they go through their air bottles, we send them over to the ambulance to make sure everything is good,” explained Smith. Fundraiser up and running Less than 24 hours after the fire had ripped through the Stevens' home, a fundraising campaign had already been established on the crowd sourcing website, gofundme.com. “(Elizabeth) Smidge and Bob Stevens has a tragic house fire on 1/6/15 leaving their home uninhabitable,” reads the campaign's description. “This fund is to help them with what insurance doesn't cover. It is our turn to help them like they have helped so many!” As of Wednesday evening, the campaign had raised $575. “We are sorry for what you have lost, but thankful you are all still here with us,” read one post accompanying a donation by Jim and Becky Taylor. “Thinking of you and the family and keeping you all in our prayers.” The fundraising campaign can be accessed online at gofundme.com/jtk7bs.
 
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