Albany Fire Department Battles Orange Street Fire

By JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER, Senior Correspondent | August 07, 2021 | NEW YORK

Story No. 081321101

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

ALBANY, NY - On August 7th at 11:29 A.M., the Albany FD was dispatched to 252 Orange Street for multiple calls reporting a structure fire. Engines 1, 7 and 2, along with Rescue 2, Truck 2, Ladder 1 and Battalion 1 responded to the scene.

Engine 1, coming from another call, quickly notified the dispatcher that they had heavy black smoke showing from a distance and declared the Signal 30. The battalion chief requested the frequency for the fire grounds to be dedicated. Engine 1 arrived on scene and had heavy fire pushing from the roof of the building. A second building next to the main fire building was also catching fire. Truck 2 took the front of the building, but had multiple overhead issues for the truck company to set up.

Battalion 1 arrived on scene and notified the dispatcher that he was taking command and to transmit the second-alarm to bring additional resources in, as he had a secondary exposure that had caught fire. Rescue 9, along with Engines 9 and 5, and Ladder 4 were requested to the scene as thick brown smoke began to fill the streets surrounding the fire building.

Engine 1's crew made their way to the third floor and requested the pump operator to charge the line. Command requested two ambulances to the scene. As firefighters made their way into the apartment they had heavy fire pushing over their heads in the cockloft. Crews made their way into the four-story building next-door where they had heavy fire pushing from the roof and the siding of the building was also on fire.

Firefighters from the two additional ladder companies set up at the intersection and made their way to the roofs of two adjacent buildings. Hose lines were deployed to the roof as the truck companies could not set up due to multiple overhead exposure issues. Firefighters from the ladder companies quickly laddered the front of the buildings to the windows while firefighters on the floor notified command that they had zero visibility and heavy heat pushing down on them, requesting outside ventilation of the front windows to be made.

Firefighters inside of the structure began to conduct an aggressive interior attack to drive back the fire. Firefighters outside of the structure set up a blitz fire to quickly knock down the heavy fire condition on the side of the building. Firefighters inside of the secondary building were able to knock down a large portion of the fire, while firefighters from the roof began to knock down the fire pushing from the eaves of the roof on the 'Bravo' side of the Structure.

Once crews were able to knock down the heavy fire condition, firefighters made their way inside of the structure and began to conduct extensive overhaul of both fire buildings. The City of Albany's engineer arrived on scene and began to conduct a structural check of the building to make sure that it was safe to re-enter. Fire Investigators arrived on scene and began to conduct their investigation.

Several firefighters were checked out by Albany Medical Centers on-scene doctor, who responds to fire scenes in the City of Albany. Residents were able to make it out safely and no injuries were reported. Both homes suffered extensive damage.