A wind-driven fire destroyed a home in Voorheesville back in April. 

Emergency crews were called to 8 Krystal Ln in Voorheesville on Wednesday, April 16, around 2:30 p.m. for a report of a possible structure fire. 

An ambulance crew that was in the area responded first to the scene and reported smoke coming from the roof and a heavy fire condition in the rear of the home. 

Firefighters faced some difficulty getting the blazed knocked down initially. 

“The wind was our enemy that day,” said Assistant Chief Paul Duncan of the Voorheesville Fire Department. “It was really windy, so every time you thought you had it knocked down, all of a sudden it flared up again.” 

Duncan said crews used caution as ammunition began going off inside the home from the heat of the fire. 

He says firefighters also had a rough start getting a water supply as one of the fire hydrants was not providing adequate water, forcing crews to locate and connect to another hydrant. He says the hydrant that was not working had been installed very recently. 

Duncan says they believe the fire started in the kitchen. He says there was a pellet stove in the kitchen with a lithium battery charging near the pellet stove, but the exact cause was unclear at this time. 

“Whether the heat from the pellet stove caused it, or the lithium battery charger failed, I don’t know for certain,” he said. 

Crews were on scene for approximately two hours fighting the fire and extinguishing hot spots. 

“There was an animal in the house,” Duncan said. “It was a cat that unfortunately perished.” 

Duncan says only one person reportedly lived in the home and was not home at the time of the blaze. 

Voorheesville, New Salem, Guilderland Center and North Bethlehem fire departments responded to the scene along with Albany County Sheriff’s Ambulance, Albany County Paramedics, Albany County Sheriff’s and New York State Police. 

There were no injuries reported on the scene.