Rome, NY – Firefighters battled a heavy fire in a maintenance building on the campus of Strough Middle School in Rome Wednesday night.
Around 9:06 p.m., the Rome Fire Department was called to the school at 801 Laurel St., according to Oneida County 911 dispatchers. According to Rome Fire Chief David Gratch, crews arriving on scene reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the building, which is used to store school supplies for maintenance.
“When crews arrived, there was a lot of smoke and flames,” Gratch said. “One corner of the building was pretty well engulfed when they got there.
The fire involved a steel maintenance and supply building, making it difficult for firefighters to attack the fire from the outside alone. Gratch said crews were forced to enter the building to fully extinguish the fire because of its sturdy steel structure and interior layout.
“They would have loved to fight it from the outside, but they couldn’t,” Gratch said. “They had to get in to put the fire out.
Firefighters worked to remove hazardous materials from the building, including several propane tanks and a large commercial tractor-style snow blower, before conditions worsened. Other items such as paper products and a forklift could not be removed.
Crews remained on the scene for several hours and the fire was not fully under control until later that night.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation and it was not immediately available how badly the building was damaged.
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