A fire inside a wall at a Seneca Falls college building prompted a multi-agency response Thursday afternoon, as crews worked quickly to locate and contain the source of smoke.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 1:35 p.m. to the Northeast College of Health Sciences on Route 89 after a fire alarm activation. A follow-up call from the alarm company reported smoke inside Academic Building 2, escalating the response.
Assistant Chief Larsen requested automatic mutual aid while en route, bringing in fire departments from Fayette, Waterloo, and Geneva, along with North Seneca Ambulance. Additional personnel from Canoga and Tyre were also called in to assist due to limited daytime staffing.
First arriving units reported smoke coming from a one-story health center building. Crews began opening walls to locate the source and found the fire inside a wall in the northern portion of the structure.
District Chief Farnsworth assumed command upon arrival, while operations continued to focus on containment and overhaul. The fire was brought under control within about 25 minutes.
Mutual aid units were released shortly after, with Waterloo firefighters remaining on standby at the Seneca Falls station as crews continued to investigate.
The Seneca County Fire Investigation Team and local code enforcement were called to the scene. Officials later determined the fire was accidental.
All units cleared the scene and returned to service by 3 p.m.
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