Flames erupt, injure four firefighters

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A massive blaze and heavy smoke erupted on Buffalo's east side at 3:53 p.m. Saturday. The auto shop blaze, at Bailey and Hewitt Avenues, spread to three nearby houses and Chinese restaurant.

Jazmin Daniels said there isn't anything left inside her Hewitt Avenue home.

"We didn't even think of salvaging anything in the apartment," Daniels said. "So [we're] just standing out here watching our house get burned."

Debbie McQueen was at work when the fire started. Her son called in a panic.

"He said my house was on fire... and he said Mah, we lost everything," McQueen recalled. "I mean I have nothing, you know? I just don't know... it's overwhelming and stressful," she said.

>> PHOTOS: See the intense flames and heavy smoke in News 4's photo gallery from the scene

Two hours after the two-alarm blaze sparked, crews were still on the scene battling the hot spots. There are reports of a fire house across the street from the scene, where the owner saw flames coming from an air compressor.

Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield said, "It's a big scene... a lot of confusion. Our number one priority is to mitigate the effects of the fire."

No one was in the auto shop at the time of the fire.

70 firefighters were called to the scene. Sources say four firefighters have been injured in the blaze and were taken to ECMC to be treated. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion, three suffered burns.

About two hours after the blaze started, a fire sparked two blocks away from the scene. The blaze, also on Bailey Avenue, may have been started by burning embers.

News 4 viewers who spotted the flames and smoke have sent in their Report It photos Saturday. The included Report It video was sent in from Nicholle.