On April 15, 2024, at 2:36 PM the City of Albany’s communications officers began to take multiple calls for a reported structure fire at 532 Morris Street. The dispatcher transmitted the alarm of fire and engine eleven, engine two, rescue two, engine seven, ladder three, truck two, engine one, engine nine, rescue nine, the rescue squad, and the battalion chief responded to the scene. As units were responding to the scene, they were getting additional information that there were people still inside of the structure. Engine one arrived on scene and immediately transmitted the signal thirty and truck one requested the frequency to be dedicated for the structure fire.  As the officer on scene completed the 360 on the building, they had heavy fire pushing out the rear portion of the structure in the bravo Charlie corner of the building along with heavy smoke pushing from the second-floor area of the building. In the rear of the building firefighters had a extremely cluttered yard and blocked rear staircase.

Engine one’s crew deployed a hand line to the second floor of the structure through the staircase and firefighters from the truck company to ladders to the front of the building and made their way to the second floor. Firefighters immediately began to conduct the primary search of the main fire building. Engine one’s officer came on the air and requested the second alarm as they had heavy fire starting to catch the second building on fire and truck four, engine ten, and rescue one was brought to the scene. As firefighters were making their way onto the second floor they had hoarder conditions inside of the structure. Firefighters inside had the dispatcher alert all companies on scene of the conditions inside of the structure. Engine one requested the primary hand line to be charged to the second floor as they had heavy fire pushing over the top of their heads and thick heavy smoke pushing from the front of the structure.

As firefighters were on the first floor conducting the primary search of the building, they notified command that there was no one inside of the structure but they had a significant amount of embers falling from the second floor starting to catch the first floor on fire and crews needed to hand line. Firefighters deployed another hand line off of one of the rigs on the side street into the adjacent structure that had heavy fire and pinging on it and firefighters deployed a attic ladder so that firefighters could get into the attic area of the second floor of the exposure building as the side of the building was involved. Command notified the dispatcher that they still had a heavy fire condition and a heavy smoke condition from the primary structure and still had exposure issues on the delta side of the structure. As firefighters were working on the second floor of the structure, they reiterated that they had hoarder conditions on the second floor and heavy fire above them in the attic area.

Firefighters utilized multiple hand lines and began to conduct an aggressive interior attack on the heavy fire condition. Firefighters in the exposure building notified command that they had the fire under control and were beginning to conduct overhaul. While firefighters were working on scene, police were working on a dispute that was happening on scene and two individuals were taken into custody from the fire scene. Firefighters in the primary fire building continued to make an aggressive push inside of the structure as firefighters on the roof began to vent the structure. As they were doing so, they had heavy smoke pushing from the vent hole along with ember‘s coming up from down below. Firefighters continued to work inside of the structure conducting aggressive knockdown of the heavy fire conditions below. Firefighters began to conduct extensive overhaul in the primary fire building. Firefighters in the exposure structure made their way outside of the building as they had completely knocked down all of the fire and overhaul the scene. Code enforcement was also notified for the conditions inside of the structure and on the outside of the structure.

Firefighters were able to bring the stubborn fire under control in about 45 minutes. No injuries were reported. Firefighters remained on scene for an extended period of time before being released. The fire is still under investigation at this time.