‘Suspicious fire’ put out in old boiler house in Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 February 2016 at 8:20 pm

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Firefighters put out a fire in an abandoned building along the railroad tracks and behind the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina this evening.

The former boiler house is believed to have been used for a former greenhouse operation, White Brothers Rose, next door.

Firefighters were dispatched at 6:07 p.m. with reports of smoke and fire coming out of the building.

Medina and Shelby firefighters responded, along with the Orleans County Emergency Management Office.

The interior of the building included lots of graffiti. Two fires needed to be put out. Jonathan Higgins, a captain for the Medina Fire Department, said investigators are looking for the cause of the fire, but he said they appear “suspicious.” The building didn’t have working electricity or natural gas.

It was difficult to get fire trucks close to the building. Medina firefighter Steve Cooley used a plow on a pickup truck to clear a lane in an alleyway.

Firefighters carry hoses and equipment through the snow to reach the building.

Smoke comes out of the building after the fires were put out inside.