Fire damages third floor of apartment building on South Avenue

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A fire damaged a three-story apartment building on South Avenue near Hamilton Street on Wednesday.

The Rochester Fire Department’s Arson Unit is working to determine the cause of the fire. The fire didn’t spread beyond one apartment unit on the third floor but five other apartments were damaged from smoke and heat.

RFD arrived at the 16-unit building around 6 p.m. after a fire alarm went off. The first company to arrive saw smoke coming from the third floor and people evacuating.

A second alarm was called and about 35 firefighters worked to put out the fire using two hose lines. It took 20 minutes to control the fire and no one was injured.

All six damaged apartments are now uninhabitable. The Red Cross is helping the adults and children displaced by the fire.