More than 30 people were displaced after a rooftop fire at the Dietz Street Lofts in Oneonta, Wednesday, June 3.
Oneonta Mayor Dan Buttermann said that the third floor of the four-story building has “extensive damage,” meaning “unfortunately, it’s going to displace some people.”
Buttermann said that the American Red Cross assisted those impacted, sheltering them at the Armory.
He said that though there is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire, based on initial review it appears to have started on the terrace.
The terrace is outside the building and above Hartwick College’s Craft Food and Beverage Baking Innovation Lab, facing the apartment complex’s parking lot. It is lower than the adjacent portions of the building’s roof.
Oneonta Fire Chief Brian Knapp said Wednesday that fire crews responded to the initial call for a fully involved structure fire with multiple people trapped at 2:03 p.m.
Knapp said that firefighters searched the whole building and didn’t find anyone who needed significant assistance leaving the building.
Mutual aid fire companies were observed on scene from Otego, West Oneonta, Laurens, Milford, Cooperstown, Richfield Springs, Worcester and Sidney, as well as Otsego and Delaware counties. NYSEG also came to the scene.
The Daily Star observed a plume of smoke rising from the rear roof of Hartwick College’s Craft Food and Beverage Baking Innovation Lab, which is located at the south end of the building, at 2:14 p.m. The front door of the building was propped open with a food cart.
A Hartwick staff member and a student who were in the area were safely evacuated, according to a statement from the college. The extent or nature of any damage was not immediately known.
Knapp said one Lofts resident was transported for evaluation to A.O. Fox Hospital. Another person was evaluted at the scene.
As onlookers gathered in the area, firefighters attacked the fire on the roof section. At least two ladder trucks were used.
Common Council member Don Mathisen, who represents the Eighth Ward where the Lofts building is located, said he observed an about 30-foot flame coming from the roof before firefighters began putting out the fire. He said the “firefighters did an excellent job.”
The Daily Star observed multiple other city officials on the scene throughout the incident, including Buttermann, City Clerk Kerri Harrington, City Administrator Greg Mattice and Council member Scott Harrington.
Loft residents who spoke with The Daily Star, all of whom renters, reported evacuating the building upon hearing the fire alarm.
“I plugged my ears and got out. I didn’t even lock my door,” said Tracy Verma.
Some residents use mobility aids and needed assistance to exit the building.
Rosemarie and John Stone, an older married couple who live on the first floor of the second closest segment of the Lofts to where the fire was seen, reported that a man they didn’t know assisted them exiting the building. The two said they did not smell smoke.
Jeff Eckler, who said he lives on the opposite side of the complex from the fire, reported that a fire department member shouted up to his window to evacuate the building around 2 p.m. “I’m kind of concerned with my cats,” he said, who he was not able to take with him in time.
Police gathered statements from residents, who congregated in the building’s parking lot.
At 2:50 p.m., a scanner report stated that a majority of fire had been extinguished. Dietz Street was closed to traffic between Main and Walnut streets.
Buttermann said the response to the fire was a “testament to how awesome our fire department is.”
“We are very lucky to have such a capable fire department” that saved people from more serious harm, he added.
Assistant Editor Lauren Takores contributed to this story.