TROY, NY — On March 1, 2026, at 1:49 AM, multiple calls began to pour into the Rensselaer County Emergency Communications Center for a structure fire at the Griswold Heights apartment building, apartment 33. Engine 3, Engine 6, Engine 2, Truck 1, Truck 2, the Rescue Squad, Medic 4, Medic 3, and the Battalion Chief were dispatched to the scene after the caller stated her apartment was on fire.

Engine 3 arrived on scene with heavy fire showing from the roadway and immediately declared a Signal 30 for a working structure fire. Police officers from the Troy Police Department rapidly began evacuating all of the attached apartments as heavy fire raged up the backside of the building into the roof of the structure. On the front side of the structure, heavy fire was also visible.

Command was notified that there were multiple victims from the fire on the other side of the structure in an adjacent building that needed assistance. The Battalion Chief immediately transmitted the second alarm, bringing the City of Watervliet Fire Department, Watervliet Arsenal Fire Department, and the Green Island Fire Department to the scene.

Firefighters immediately deployed an inch-and-three-quarter handline from Engine 3 and called for water. As additional firefighters arrived on scene, they immediately began conducting rapid searches of the adjacent apartments. Firefighters, not receiving a response from the apartment next door, forced entry through the front door and rapidly began searching the structure.

With the fire lane filled with parked vehicles, it made it difficult for additional fire apparatus to access the lane, causing the truck company to remain on the roadway. Heavy fire rolled out of the windows of the apartment while thick black smoke pushed from the roof area. Firefighters made an aggressive push inside the structure, beginning to knock down a significant portion of the heavy fire.

Firefighters made their way through the apartment and up to the second floor, where they encountered heavy smoke and extreme heat pushing down from the fire below. Firefighters conducted a rapid primary search of the apartment but did not locate any victims.

Troy firefighters then made their way to the other side of the building and began treating multiple burn victims, including children. Firefighters from the truck company threw a ladder to the roof and immediately began ventilating the fire building. Firefighters on the second floor conducted horizontal ventilation, releasing a significant amount of heavy smoke.

The Town of Colonie Emergency Medical Services and Mohawk Ambulance Service were dispatched to the scene. Firefighters continued their aggressive interior attack as additional crews deployed a garden lay to the structure, while another firefighter established a water supply at a nearby fire hydrant.

Police later notified Command that everyone in apartments 31 through 37 had been safely evacuated. Medic 3 and Medic 4, unable to wait for additional ambulances to arrive, quickly loaded two pediatric patients and one adult patient who had suffered burns in the fire and transported them to Albany Medical Center. Firefighters from Engine 4 provided additional resources to the medical crews to help stabilize the burn victims.

Firefighters were able to knock down all of the heavy fire conditions inside the apartment and began conducting extensive overhaul. Crews also completed a secondary search of all apartments, ensuring that all occupants and pets had safely escaped.

Fire investigators arrived on scene along with members of the Troy Housing Authority, the City of Troy’s Code Enforcement Division, and the City of Troy Water Department. While on scene, Troy Police officers checked on occupants of the apartments on both sides of the fire apartment.

Traffic on Project Road was shut down for an extended period of time as fire apparatus occupied the entire roadway. Fire investigators later made entry into the apartment and began their investigation into the cause of the fire.

At this time, the three burn victims who were transported to Albany Medical Center remain hospitalized. Two of the victims have been transferred to the Westchester Burn Center in critical condition, while the third victim is listed in stable condition.