Two Rochester houses were heavily damaged in separate fires Monday night.
The first, at 415 Alphonse Street, was in a vacant house at about 8:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find flames roaring out of the first and second floors, and they were hindered by a bad fire hydrant that forced them to battle the flames from outside. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The second fire was less than two hours later at 266 Norton Street. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from a multi-family home. Two adults and seven children and a dog got out safely, but other dogs were killed by smoke inhalation. Most of the fire was contained to the basement. The cause of that blaze remains under investigation.