Rochester officials say a Buffalo Road warehouse now used by Pallet Express poses the kind of fire risk that led to the company's five-alarm warehouse blaze earlier this summer at another location.
The City of Rochester has asked a judge to enforce an order to vacate the property at 110 Buffalo Road until the fire concerns are addressed. The 345,000-square-foot warehouse is owned by Rochester landlord John Trickey, through Lincoln Business and Sports Park Inc.
It contains an auto repair shop and recently became a new manufacturing and storage plant for Pallet Express Corp. ― whose previous warehouse on Lyell Avenue burned in the June 9 fire.
In a petition filed in state Supreme Court Aug. 6, city officials said the Buffalo Road warehouse does not
have working fire alarms, sprinklers or suppression systems and poses a significant public safety risk because of the highly-combustible materials stored inside.
But in a phone call Aug. 11, Trickey said repairs were completed a month ago and he's just waiting on a third-party inspection to certify the system is fully operational.
"It's going to be resolved Friday, as soon as we hand in the inspection," Trickey said. "The sprinkler system is up and running. The alarm is up and running."
City: Buffalo Road warehouse poses significant fire risk
Fire officials first cited the warehouse owners in January 2025, but allowed them additional time to address the violations because the warehouse was empty, court papers say.
By November 2025, city inspectors found personal cars, commercial trucks, propane cylinders and industrial quantities of wood and paper inside the warehouse, according to the petition. Another inspection in April 2026 allegedly revealed an auto repair shop had moved in, introducing flammable liquids and open flame work to the space. Sometime this summer, Pallet Express Corp. leased part of the warehouse.
City officials claim the fire violations were never fixed, despite multiple tickets and notices over more than a year. A last-effort order to vacate the building on July 9 was ignored.
Trickey said the delays were due to illness and additional issues that popped up as repairs were underway.
The petition, however, argues the warehouse has created a significant public safety risk because of how rapidly a possible fire ― fueled by highly-combustible materials like pallets and undeterred by an inadequate suppression system ― could spread to nearby homes and businesses.
"Monetary penalties alone cannot adequately protect the public from the consequences of a catastrophic fire," the petition reads. "If a fire occurs, the resulting injury to persons, neighboring properties, and emergency responders cannot be fully remedied through post-event enforcement efforts."
— Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle with a focus on immigration, police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Instagram @bykaylacanne. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: City says fire-prone warehouse could repeat Pallet Express blaze
