House in Endicott’s Union District Heavily Damaged by Fire

Several fire departments were called to battle a blaze that raced through a two-family house in the Union District of Endicott.

A passerby reported the fire at 305 Badger Avenue was reported around 6:15 a.m. Friday.

Endicott fire chief Joseph Griswold said there was "heavy fire" coming from the two-story building when the first firefighters arrived. The blaze spread to a garage behind the house.

Village firefighters were assisted by the Vestal, West Corners, Endwell and Union Center fire departments.

The building is located on Badger Avenue, just south of West Main Street.

Griswold said no injuries were reported. He said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

The house was damaged by a blaze last May. Griswold said that fire was ignited by incense sticks that had been placed in a hole in a wall.

The building was supposed to be vacant since that fire, although there had been reports that people had been inside the structure in recent days. The utilities to the building had been turned off.

The fire chief said the fire-damaged building will have to be torn down. He said the owner of the property, who lives in Vestal, indicated he already had taken steps to have the structure demolished.

By late Friday afternoon, demolition operations were underway at the scene of the early-morning blaze.

VIDEO: Endicott fire chief Joseph Griswold spoke with WNBF News at the scene.

NEW VIDEO: The fire-damaged house was being demolished late Friday afternoon.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.