ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A massive warehouse fire on Hague Street on Saturday night forced neighbors to evacuate and left others in the area worried. News10NBC’s Antonina Tortorello visited the scene to assess the damage and hear from residents.

The five-alarm fire caused the entire roof to collapse, leaving rubble and a building blackened with char. One neighbor described how a normal night quickly turned alarming.

“I come look out the bedroom window and it’s engulfed in flames across the street,” she said. “It was just orange, lit up, and I saw gulfs and gulfs of smoke, thick soot. It was crazy.”

Fire crews arrived swiftly, with nearly a dozen trucks on the scene. “They had the trucks coming down from both angles,” the neighbor recounted. “Since it was so cold, it was hard to put out so they battled with it for a long time.”

High winds fanned the flames, making it even more challenging for firefighters to control the blaze. “It went all the way on until like 2 something in the morning,” she added.

“Everything was coming through the vents, so it was a little hard to sleep and manage,” another resident shared. “I’m just glad they got it under control, but they’re still over there right now.”

Those who rent space in the building are anxious to assess the damage. 

One person described stepping outside to see embers falling like something out of an apocalypse movie. After several hours, crews managed to control the fire, but investigators are still working to determine the cause.

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