6 homeless encampments discovered after fire in Orchard Park

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Fire crews battling flames in Orchard Park made a surprising discovery deep in the woods Monday morning - numerous homeless encampments.

Patrick Fitzgerald, Chief of the Orchard Park Police Department, tells WIVB News 4 around 7 a.m. Monday, they received several reports of a loud explosion. Officers were dispatched to the 3500 block of South Benzing Rd., where they found heavy smoke showing from a nearby wooded area.

"Police and fire did respond and located a fire back on vacant land," said Fitzgerald. "The fire was extinguished by the fire department."

Fitzgerald says this wasn't a typical brush fire. Instead, when crews made their way into the wood, they found flames coming from a spot where homeless people had been living.

"In the process of getting to and from that encampment, emergency responders did locate additional," said Fitzgerald. "There were multiple sites, all connected by trails, within this vacant piece of property."

Six different encampments were discovered. According to Fitzgerald, no one was present at the sites when they were found, but they were full of trash, tents, scrap metal, fire pits, and more.

Fitzgerald said a major issue, besides the camps being illegal, is the proximity of these sites to local businesses.

"We're finding that the property that's located back in there has been taken, whether it's taken from a store or whether it's stolen from the adjoining properties around," said Fitzgerald. "A lot of the activities that are occurring back in there are illegal in nature."

Fitzgerald said his department has dealt with these individuals before. His focus now is keeping both the homeless people, and nearby residents, safe as winter approaches.

"It's August in Buffalo and it's not too bad to live outdoors," said Fitzgerald. "We all know that's going to change and we want to make sure that those who are living there have some permanent housing prior to the weather changing."

The person who owns the vacant land is planning on bringing in an outside company, at their own expense, to remove the items from the homeless encampments. The police department will then continue to monitor the area to ensure it is not reoccupied.

"If you see something, say something," said Fitzgerald. "We encourage our residents and those that work in Orchard Park to reach out to us if they see something that's suspicious or individuals entering vacant lots and wooded areas on foot, potentially carrying things in and out. That is enough for them to pick up the phone and make a call and allow us to go out and investigate."