Sodus Cold Storage: fire, explosion, evacuation

North Rose is a small hamlet in the Town of Rose, roughly ten miles south of Lake Ontario and midway between Rochester and Syracuse. In 1983 it was home to about 750 citizens.

The fire began during the lunch hour — thankfully, no employees or contractors were inside. It was triggered by the ignition of polyurethane insulation being sprayed within a large refrigerated storage space. The conflagration released heavy black smoke on two separate occasions, along with unknown toxic chemicals, as the event progressed over the next several hours.

Town Supervisor Joseph DeAngelis, in consultation with the NRFD fire chief and incident commander, concurred that evacuation of the community was the appropriate course of action. First responders and law enforcement executed the evacuation shortly after the initial response; many residents sheltered at North Rose–Wolcott High School. Mutual aid came from across Wayne County, and federal and local authorities from many agencies took part in the post-analysis.

Chief Charles Tompkins commanded the scene, supported by Wayne County Fire Coordinator Rick Bond. The incident required an "all hands" mutual aid response including Rose, Clyde, Lyons, Newark and Wolcott, among other neighboring companies. On arrival, extensive black smoke was pouring from the building.

At one point the Newark fire department deployed a large ventilation fan on the assumption that the fire had been contained. The fire then flashed over, producing an explosion and an extreme release of black smoke that engulfed personnel and equipment under a blanket of soot and debris.

"This was demoralizing for the crews battling to control the situation."

First Assistant Chief Bobby Guthrie and Second Assistant Chief Ed Thomas provided direct support managing the fire scene and resource deployment.

First Aid Captain Kenan Baldridge staged a triage center on Railroad Avenue in front of what would have been member Gale Anthony's. David Guthrie was overtaken at the scene; several members required follow-up care and transport to local hospitals — including Chief Tompkins himself, who displayed excessively high heart rates.

The Department of Environmental Conservation expressed alarm at the considerable amount of water used and the potential environmental impact. Studies measured and monitored groundwater for toxic chemicals and particulate matter. The spill report recorded diphenylmethane diisocyanate as a hazardous material and noted that a state of emergency had been declared.

"A fire and explosion on the 2nd floor of the cold storage company resulted in toxic fumes and contaminated water used in fighting the fire. Groundwater may have been affected. Will test for possible effects."

Officials struggled to characterize the exposure. Ken Fanfoni of the state Health Department's Geneva office said soot samples had not been analyzed because officials did not know what chemicals to look for. Gene Burns of the Chemical Transport Emergency Center in Washington criticized that reasoning: "the thing I find totally illogical is someone saying they can't analyze a sample because they don't know what to look for." Dr. John Hawley of the state Health Department did not believe a public health hazard existed in the hamlet, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets later determined that hundreds of thousands of pounds of stored cheese and butter — including two million pounds of Kraft cheddar — were safe for consumption.

Bill Bishop, the owner in 1983, recalled in an April 2026 conversation that both elevator shafts and elevators were completely replaced. "We actually came out of that mess pretty well. It took five years to fully settle with the insurance companies." The storage was down only a few days, no product was lost, and testing on the ash produced the comment that there were more dangerous substances in a household fireplace. Local merchants were less fortunate: their businesses were closed for days.