SCHUYLER HEIGHTS, NY - On November 23rd at 1:11 A.M., the Schuyler Heights, Menands, Watervliet Arsenal, Shaker Road, West Albany, and Verdoy Fire Departments, along with Colonie Emergency Medical Services, responded to the area of 609 Broadway for multiple calls for a reported structure fire. At the same time as the dispatching was going out, a person pulled into the Menands Police Department and notified them that there was a working fire down the street. Command also notified the responding fire chief from the Schuyler Heights Fire Department that the dispatcher notified them that they were taking multiple calls from the highway on 787. As multiple units were responding to the scene, a significant column of smoke was visible from the city of Troy, along with a heavy glow in the air and numerous bright white flashes lighting up the column of smoke.

The chief arrived on scene and confirmed a working fire with power lines down. Upon further inspection, they had a trailer fully involved with multiple vehicles heavily involved, and a downed high voltage power line next to the dumpster. Command requested national grid to expedite to the scene. The first arriving engine on scene immediately pulled a hand line and went to work protecting the exposure building from the parking lot of the gas station. The next arriving engine laid in from the fire hydrant across the street, supplying the scene with water. Firefighters immediately began to deploy multiple hand lines from the arriving pieces of apparatus and started to knock down some of the heavy fire to the best of their ability. Menands Fire Department Truck 6 arrived on scene and took up a position in front of the main gate in front of Dawson‘s Towing Company.

Due to the high voltage power line situation, firefighters could not apply water directly to the burning vehicles or the trailer; they could only provide exposure protection until national grid arrived on scene. Firefighters began to set up the two truck companies for master stream operations. National grid quickly arrived on scene and began to search for the correct power pole to kill the power to the area. Firefighters continued to utilize hand lines to protect exposures. Firefighters opened up the gate and made their way into the car yard at the towing company, and set up a hand line and waited for the notification that the power was killed to the area. As soon as command was notified that the power has been shut off to the area, firefighters immediately opened up their hand lines on the burning vehicles and the trailer. Firefighters from Truck 6 opened up their master streams and knocked down a significant portion of the heavy fire condition.

Firefighters on the rear side of the trailer began to knock down all of the remaining fire. Within a few minutes, firefighters had the entire incident under control. Police on scene took one individual down to the station for questioning in relation to the fire. Fire investigators arrived and began to conduct their investigation into the fire. Numerous vehicles were destroyed by the fire, along with one trailer that was loaded with car parts. One building suffered external damage to the siding. Firefighters conducted extensive overhaul of the fire scene for an extended period of time. Fire investigators have not released the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported.