A call came in around 10:10 a.m. for a structure fire showing heavy smoke. Brocton Fire Chief Jim Rizzo said it appears the fire started inside in the back end of a duplex and spread quickly. “Everybody got out safely,” he said.

Firefighters helped remove a dog from the house. The county Firefighter Assist and Search Team responded and successfully attacked the blaze from inside. While the outside of the structure was not severely damaged, Rizzo said the interior was.

There were no injuries reported. The Citgo gas station at Country Fair, which is a few houses away from the blaze, was taped off. Volunteers also had to block off Route 20 during the response.

Along with Brocton and the county Emergency Services, others who responded included Portland, Fredonia, Westfield, Stockton and Sunset Bay fire departments.

This dog was being tended to after it was pulled from a fire in downtown Brocton.

The Chautauqua County Fire Investigation Team responded for a cause and origin investigation. They ruled the fire to be accidental in nature due to a malfunction and failure of electrical components with a mini refrigerator unit.

The Red Cross is assisting the occupants.