BERNE, NY – A fire broke out inside a firehouse in Albany County, causing damage to the apparatus bay.

The Berne Fire Department was dispatched to their firehouse, located at 30 Canady Hill Road, on Saturday, February 21st at 10:45 a.m. for a fire alarm activation.

“While I was going down the road, I assumed it was the furnace again,” said Chief Jason Smith of the Berne Fire Department. “I called mutual aid because I saw plumes of smoke.”

The fire alarm activation was upgraded to a working structure fire once it was determined it was not a furnace issue, but an active fire inside.

The apparatus was able to be removed from the building with minimal damage. One truck did sustain heat damage on top.

“The nozzle on the deck gun got heat damage to it, but that was all that we had any damage to on the trucks,” he said.

Berne, East Berne, and Westerlo firefighters were able to quickly locate and extinguish the fire inside the apparatus bay.

Smith says they are still waiting on insurance, but confirmed they lost the first apparatus bay, the Plymovent exhaust system, their bailout wall, spare gear, paper files, and sustained significant electrical damage. The building itself also sustained heat damage.

He said the parapet wall was damaged, along with two or three trusses and other structural components.

Smith noted the parapet wall helped prevent the fire from spreading into the rest of the firehouse.

He said the cause of the fire was determined to be an air compressor.

“The investigator and adjuster both determined we had a Craftsman air compressor that ran the vacuum system for the Plymovent system, and the motor on that caught fire,” he said.

He believes the fire started due to the age of the compressor, as the unit was over 20 years old.

The following Monday, Onesquethaw Fire assisted with washing fire hose, Huntersland Fire helped clean gear, Tri-Village ran equipment through industrial gear extractors, and Westerlo and Knox assisted with clearing items and debris from the apparatus bay.

Gallupville, Huntersland, Selkirk, Altamont, and Slingerlands fire departments all offered gear, hose, and equipment to be borrowed until operations are restored, Smith said.

He added that the Onesquethaw Fire Auxiliary provided a donation, and the Onesquethaw Fire Department donated proceeds from a breakfast fundraiser.

The apparatus is currently scattered throughout the area since it cannot be stored inside the Berne Firehouse due to the damage.

Smith said one engine is at the Helderberg EMS station, another engine and utility truck with trailer are in a business owner’s private garage, and the rescue truck is the only apparatus remaining in the station, located in the bay furthest from the fire damage.

Crews on scene or standing by included Berne, East Berne, Westerlo, Knox, and Onesquethaw Fire Departments, Helderberg EMS, and Albany County Paramedics.

“Special thanks to all who offered help or were up here assisting,” Smith said. “Thank you to everyone. We’re getting through it.”