BUFFALO, N.Y. — Overnight the Buffalo Fire Department responded to a three-alarm fire at the Grand Hotel in downtown Buffalo.
According to fire officials, the fire started near the second floor ballroom of the hotel located at 120 Church Street. Multiple crews arrived on the scene just after 1 a.m. Thursday. There were about 60 firefighters responding at any one time, according to Fire Commissioner William Renaldo.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries during the fire, but remained on duty.
Renaldo reported that 40 to 50 guests were evacuated from the building for about an hour while firefighters worked on extinguishing the fire. He reported all guests were checked out of the hotel.
"It's quite a distance from the main entrance to where the scene of the fire was determined to be," Renaldo said. "This distance made the fire logistically challenging to put out and required a lot of manpower to haul hoses to the fire."
During a morning press conference at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, crews were called back to check on possible hot spots, which is not uncommon for large fires according to Renaldo.
Damage is estimated at $3 million and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. K-9 units were brought into the building to check if any accelerants were used.