A vacant Route 380 home in the town of Ellery was leveled by a fire that broke out early Friday. The fire was ruled “incendiary in nature.” P-J photo

SINCLAIRVILLE – A vacant home described by the Sinclairville Fire Department as a “known hazard” went up in flames early Friday. The property, long viewed as an eyesore with abandoned vehicles strewn around, was leveled in the blaze that’s currently under investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.

Firefighters were summoned at 5:30 a.m. Friday to the area of 5395 Route 380, at the intersection of Harvey Road, in the town of Ellery. A vacant structure was found fully engulfed by flames.

“There was at least one explosion early on, I assumed to be a propane tank,” said Chris Roll, an assistant fire chief with the Sinclairville Fire Department.

Due to the structure’s condition, Roll said firefighters already had a response plan in place.

“The structure was very old,” Roll said. “It has deteriorated somewhat (and) there was a large quantity of vehicles and other material around the structure. To us, it represented a known hazard.

“Plans were made ahead of time that we would fight this fire defensively from the road until we were absolutely sure that it was safe to venture closer.”

Images from Google Maps, captured this past May, show two large campers, a bus, four sedans and possibly a boat around the property. Mounds of garbage also can be seen.

Sinclairville firefighters were assisted Friday by crews from Fluvanna, Cassadaga, Gerry, Ellery Center and Stockton as well as Chautauqua County EMS and Department of Public Facilities.

Debris was monitored for hotspots throughout the morning.

“Firefighting consists of hot, hard, messy, dirty work, and now it’s a matter of tearing the lumber apart, pulling everything back, spraying water on every little nook and cranny until we have the fire completely extinguished,” Roll said. “This is the hard part, this is where the hard work comes in.”

No injuries were reported.

In a news release, the Sheriff’s Office said its fire investigation team was looking into the cause of the Route 380 blaze. Because no utilities were connected to the property, the fire was ruled “incendiary in nature.”

As of early Friday afternoon, the fire remained under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 716-753-4925.