ALBANY, NY - On January 18th at 8:04 P.M., the dispatchers at the city of Albany emergency communication center began to take multiple calls for a reported structure fire at 484 West Street.

Callers reported fire showing from the second-floor. Battalion two, engines 1, 7 and 2, rescue 2, truck 2, the rescue squad, Mohawk Ambulance Service, and truck 3 responded to the scene. Engine 7 arrived on scene and immediately transmitted the Signal 30 for a working structure fire and requested the frequency to be dedicated. Engine 7 had a two-and-a-half-story wood-frame structure with heavy fire pushing from the front of the structure and requested the truck company to come in from Allen Street and the second due pumper to make the hydrant and establish the water supply.

Firefighters deployed a one-and-three-quarter-inch hand line to the front door of the structure and made entry, making their way up the staircase. As firefighters hit the top of the staircase, they had a heavy fire condition inside of the second-floor apartment and a significant amount of smoke pushing from the cockloft. The truck company tossed a ladder to the side of the building and firefighters made their way to the roof and began to vent the structure.

The first due engine crew on the second-floor requested the hand line to be charged as firefighters had a heavy fire condition pushing over their heads. Firefighters forced entry to the first-floor and quickly conducted a primary search and the building came up negative. Firefighters on the second-floor made an aggressive interior attack, quickly knocking down all of the heavy fire condition. An additional hand line was brought into the structure and crews began to hit any of the remaining visible fire.

Within four minutes, firefighters had the entire second-floor that had been heavily involved knocked down and command brought the incident under control. Firefighters began to conduct extensive overhaul on the second-floor. Firefighters on the roof notified command that they had no extension, just visible smoke and no heat. Firefighters on the exterior portion of the structure had significant issues with ice, as temperatures were hovering around 15°F.

Fire investigators arrived on scene and began to conduct their investigation into what caused the fire. West Street remained shut down for an extended period of time during the investigation. Firefighters conducted overhaul into the late evening hours. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire has not been released. Firefighters went back in service later in the evening.