UPDATED Live video & audio: Niagara Lubricant Company in Buffalo still burning nine hours after it started. Raw video added.
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Six minutes of raw video from Erie County Fire Wire have been added below.
From WGRZ-TV (updated at 2:10 PM EDT):
Buffalo firefighters say a massive industrial fire in the city's Black Rock neighborhood will have to burn itself out.
Firefighters continue to douse the flames with water and foam but acknowledge there is little more than can do, saying the fire will not be under control until it's burned out.
Buffalo Fire Commissioner Darnell Whitfield is expected to update the situation at 4:00 this afternoon. His news conference will be streamed live in the video window above.
The fire started just before 6 a.m. at Niagara Lubricant Company, Inc., located at 164 Chandler Street.
Foam trucks from the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport and the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station were called in to assist.
Over 100 firefighters are on the scene and continue to be rotated in and out of the area. One was taken to the hospital for a knee injury.
Nearby residents have not been asked to evacuate, however, they have been advised to keep their windows closed as thick, black smoke continues to billow through the area.
According to the Niagara Lubricant's web site, the company manufactures and packages lubricating oils, greases, industrial oils and tire care products.
Chandler Street has been closed to traffic and National Grid was on scene this morning to cut power to the immediate area.
As a precautionary measure, Buffalo Schools have diverted students from the Extended Learning Opportunity Program at School #94 to Riverside High School. At the end of the day, walkers will be taken by bus back to School #94 to head home. Students who normally take the bus will be transported home from Riverside.Parents with questions or concerns can call Riverside at 816-4360.
Several explosions could be heard at the scene, and the smoke could be seen from miles away. Fire crews were ordered out of the building around 6:15 a.m. after they learned the building housed several propane tanks.
Niagara Lubricant has about 35 employees. Leon Smith, one of the company's owners, says five generations of his family have worked there since its founding in 1923, and its products are distributed worldwide. The business is insured.
He said the fire department had given him no indication of the fire's cause.
