CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- Crews were busy Thursday morning with a difficult house fire in Cheektowaga that took quite a while for things to get under control.
Neighbors said a fire at the home on Harris Court started sometime around 8 a.m. U-Crest Chief Ron Pocobello said the homeowner called and said his electrical panel was on fire.
When crews arrived on-scene, crews noticed flames coming from a second-floor window. They started to spray water through the front door and eventually through the roof with a ladder truck.
Two things led to firefighters attacking this defensively: first, the fire spread from the basement to the second floor, making it nearly impossible for crews to get inside. The homeowner also warned crews about ammunition that was stored in a safe.
"The concern was when the heat started spreading to the first floor there was a pop so we suggested that was a gunshot," said Pocobello.
There's no word on damage estimates yet, but the chief said it is not a total loss. While we know the fire came from the electrical panel, investigators are still looking for the cause.