Terry's Corners firefighters watch as a South Lockport firefighter tosses a burning air conditioner out a window at an Academy Lane house fire this morning. (PHOTOS BY STEPHEN M. WALLACE / CONTRIBUTOR)

ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com

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The fire was contained mostly to a bedroom on the second floor.

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — An Academy Lane family escaped a house fire this morning without physical injury — but the damage to the home has temporarily displaced them.

Five volunteer fire companies responded to the fire at 7035 Academy Lane around 9:15 a.m., including South Lockport, Terry's Corners, Rapids, Gasport, and Swormville.

Niagara County Sheriff's deputies were the first to arrive. When they did so, they saw smoke coming from the second floor windows and were advised that the homeowner was on the back side of the home with a hose attempting to extinguish the fire. Patrol retrieved a fire extinguisher from the patrol vehicle and continued to allow the homeowner to spray water through the window.

Several minutes later the South Lockport Fire Co. arrived and made a quick entry into the home to extinguish the fire. SLFC then ventilated the home and removed a burning air conditioning unit from the window of the southwest bedroom.

Patrol spoke with the homeowner, who said he was unsure what the cause of the fire was, but believed a lit candle may have caught the window curtains on fire. He said he was in the basement of his home when he smelled a strong odor of smoke and ran upstairs to see where it was coming from. He opened the door to his bedroom and smoke began to pour out into the hallway. The man grabbed both of his children and ran out of the home, taking the children to his neighbors house and going back to his home to try and put the fire out.

The homeowner told patrol that he has several family members in the area and would not need housing assistance from the Red Cross.

The majority of the damage appeared to be contained to the second floor bedroom, but the cost of the damage is unknown at this time.

The homeowner tried to put the fire out with a hose prior to firefighters arriving.

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