<!--Rick Pfeiffer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Rick Pfeiffer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com">rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Falls firefighters out on a routine ride to check on hydrants were pressed into action Wednesday morning to battle a suspicious blaze in a home in the 1900 block of East Falls Street.
“Engine 8 was out checking hydrants and doing neighborhood familiarization and they came across it,” Falls Fire Chief William MacKay said. “They were driving along and all of a sudden smoke was belching and billowing across the street.”
Firefighters were also confronted with occupants of the two-story, two-apartment home scrambling out of the dwelling to safety.
“The downstairs occupants were able to get out,” MacKay said. “Upstairs, three adults and a child were able to get on to a porch and then the roof and we got ladders up to them to bring them down.”
MacKay said much of the fire was confined to the rear of the home at 1947 East Falls St.
“It appears to have started in the rear stairwell, between the first and second floors,” the chief said.
Investigators have declared the blaze “suspicious.”
“We have some samples out for forensic analysis,” MacKay said. “It’s classified as suspicious at this point.”
Damage has been estimated at $55,000 and the structure has been condemned. The seven occupants of the home are being assisted by the Red Cross.
