BUFFALO, N.Y. — Neighbors on Bird Avenue did not have a calm Saturday morning.
"Girlfriend wakes me up and says there's smoke coming out of the chimney over there. It's bellowing smoke so we rush out," said Michael Worth, who lives in the area.
"I'm rushing out the door. My cousin, who is a firefighter, he sees it too. We both rush out the door. There's a couple neighbors here trying to call 911."
Buffalo firefighters were already in the area because of a false alarm at another place nearby.
However, when they got to Bird Avenue, all of the uncleared snow from Friday's storm made it harder for them to get to that house fire.
"The streets, as you can see, are real tight to get down, especially backing rigs down. Our rigs are not a compact car, by any means," said Daniel Bossi, division chief with the Buffalo Fire Department.
"Could you imagine pulling down the street, let alone backing down the street? So those are the things we're facing on these smaller older side streets. You get to North Buffalo, you get to South Buffalo, the streets are wider."
During the week, the City of Buffalo had parking enforcement out towing cars parked on the wrong side of the road that prevented plows from getting through.
Those rules don't apply on the weekend.
Buffalo firefighters eventually got to that fire and were able to save a man trapped on the second floor. Bossi says he was taken to Erie County Medical Center.
"He did have some burns, it looked like on his back. But like I said, he was conscious and alert when he was transported, so that's a good sign," Bossi said.
Firefighters also say two cats died in that house fire. A third cat was found and given to the neighbor downstairs for safekeeping.
Bossi says the blaze started in a bedroom on the second floor but they're still investigating what set those flames.
Fire crews were also able to save the house, but Bossi estimates damages are around $150,000.