Binghamton, NY - The Binghamton Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 18 Munsell Street, where first-arriving crews encountered heavy smoke throughout the structure and intense flames on the first floor extending into the second-floor kitchen and walls.

Due to the home’s balloon-frame construction, the fire spread rapidly through multiple wall cavities, requiring extensive overhaul operations to fully extinguish all remaining hot spots. Hoarder conditions on the first floor hindered interior access to the second level, prompting firefighters to advance a hose line up a ladder and through a second-floor window to contain and knock down the blaze.

Primary searches confirmed that all occupants had safely exited the residence prior to the department’s arrival. In addition to extinguishing the fire, firefighters rescued five snakes and two guinea pigs from the home.

Crews remained on scene for approximately three hours. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Binghamton Police, NYSEG, and Superior Ambulance Service, Inc. assisted at the scene.