The Finger Lakes Village of Ovid is reeling after a massive fire destroyed an entire block of its historic downtown Tuesday night. Ovid is tucked halfway between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes about 60 miles southwest of Syracuse, and is home to about 500 people. The blaze began before 6 o'clock, and leveled a grocery store, two restaurants, and apartments. Seneca County Sheriff Tim Thompson says they worked with the fire department to determine the cause.
“The origin has been isolated to a charging device and an electrical outlet," Thompson said. "The resident of the apartment reported that she plugged in the charging device and noticed that it was smoking a few hours later, after returning to the apartment. She then gathered her children and fled the apartment.”
More than 200 firefighters from numerous departments battled the blaze for 11 hours. Ovid Fire Chief Timothy Westlake says the frigid, windy conditions hampered their efforts.
“The mist from the water lines as soon as it would hit our gear, the equipment would freeze instantly," Westlake said. "We had several trucks that were freezing up. Tankers that could not open their valves to refill, and then they're out of service. We have to try to find a place to thaw out.”
Westlake says one tanker came from 45 minutes away to replace a frozen rig. He says within ten minutes, they had more than 30 water supply apparatus working on the fire. Because the firefighting depleted the village’s water supply, residents are asked to limit usage. The fire displaced 15 to 20 people. Only minor injuries to firefighters were reported.
Editor's note: Quotes were obtained through news conference audio streamed by Fingerlakes1.com.
