Buffalo firefighters have gotten a significant fire from this afternoon under control shortly after 4 p.m. that caused the evacuation of multiple buildings Downtown.
At one point, around 100 firefighters were on-scene near Church and Franklin Streets, trying to quell the fire, but also preventing its spread to adjacent historic buildings.
The buildings on either side should be safe, said Catherine Amdur, Buffalo commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services.
The first emergency vehicles arrived to the scene around 12:30 p.m.
The 11,160 square feet, three-story office building houses the Paul William Beltz law firm.
There are additional concerns that make the fire tougher to put out, since it's an office building and was built in the 1960s Buffalo Fire Department Battalion Chief Patrick Lalley said.
“An office building, right? Papers, desks, everything that you would find in your typical business class office is a huge content fire," he said. "And again, because it was built in the -- as an office as a three-story, specifically, a three-story office building in the mid-60s, there was no need for sprinklers or standpipes.”
First responders to the scene actually had to pull out of the building due to poor conditions, as there was no immediate risk of life. As a result, crews are fighting the blaze externally, spraying down on the building from above.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has announced due to heavy smoke, he is closing the nearby county government buildings. That includes the Rath Building, Old County Hall, Family Court and 50 Delaware Avenue. Alarms could be seen going off in Old County Hall, likely due to smoke being blown in its direction.
Another communication to employees of other state, county and city courts located along Delaware Avenue also received notice to evacuate and close the buildings to the public.
Due to the continuing fire at the Paul William Beltz Law Firm Building on Church Street I am closing the county government campus of the Rath Building, Old County Hall, Family Court, 50 Delaware and the Lincoln Building immediately. County Employees will be released soon. pic.twitter.com/omP09NQRjX
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) May 1, 2025
A spokesperson for the city is warning people to avoid the area, as crews continue to battle the blaze.
"The City of Buffalo is urging the public to avoid the area of Church Street between Delaware Avenue and Washington Street, as well as the surrounding area between Court Street and West Swan Street near County Hall, due to a large structure fire," said the release. "Emergency personnel are on site and actively responding. Please avoid the area to allow crews to work safely."
You can watch a live view of the fire scene from our BTPM roof camera stream:
BTPM NPR will update this story, as it develops.
