A late Christmas Eve fire heavily damaged the Irondequoit Department of Public Works on Kings Highway, and according to the town supervisor it has severely damaged the Irondequoit’s snow fighting equipment.
According to the Point Pleasant Fire Company’s website, the building roof collapsed, but thankfully there were no injuries. All five Irondequoit fire companies responded when the fire broke out about 10:30 Saturday night.
Irondequoit Supervisor David Seeley said in a statement Christmas Day that the fire started somehow in the southeast corner of the town garage and eventually spread to the entire eastern side of the building. It took until early Christmas morning to put it out. He says fire departments from outside the town responded as well, and at times more than 100 firefighters were on the job. The cause is under investigation.
Seeley says perhaps a fourth of the town’s equipment fleet has been lost, and there are significant losses to Irondequoit’s snowplows and ice removal equipment. He says they’re working on ways to make sure those services are able to continue with a forecast that calls for freezing rain bearing down on the region.
The supervisor says the bravery he witnessed Christmas Eve showed “the most powerful devotion to the community.”
Supervisor Seeley also says the building isn’t safe and will be demolished. He says people should stay away.
It was the second major fire to hit the Irondequoit DPW in recent years. The town’s salt shed burned in June of 2012.