Apartment Owner Safely Rescues Her 2 Dogs From A Working High Rise Fire in Troy

By JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER, Senior Correspondent | December 05, 2021 | NEW YORK

Story No. 123021108

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo by JEFFREY BELSCHWINDER/SIDEWINDER PHOTOGRAPHY

On December 5, 2021, at 7:44pm, The City of Troy’s Engine six was dispatched to a fire alarm activation at building three of the Taylor Apartments in apartment 4E for a smoke detector activation. Engine 6 arrived on scene with nothing showing from the high rise building from the exterior of the structure.

As firefighters made their way up to the fourth floor and discovered they had a smoke condition in the hallway. Firefighters came up to the apartment door and the apartment owner open the door and they had a heavy smoke condition in the apartment and the officer on engine six transmitted the signal thirty for a working structure fire and requested the box alarm to be transmitted. The dispatcher transmitted box alarm 624 for a working structure fire which is supposed to include Engine two, three, four, six, truck one, truck two, the rescue squad, and medic four. Engine two was out of service as the firefighters were on a medical call and were staffing medic two, Truck one was out of service as the crew was staffing medic one which was on a medical call and medic four was on their way to Albany Memorial Hospital with a patient that it was transporting from another call leaving firefighters on scene with extremely minimal staffing.

Engine four quickly arrived on scene and began to assist engine sixes crew on the fire floor. Engine fours driver immediately made the standpipe connection and began to charge the standpipe in the building. Engine threes crew arrived on scene and connected to the nearby fire hydrant and back laid the large diameter hose to engine four making the water supply for the scene. The apartment owner made her way back inside of the apartment that was on fire with smoke banking down quickly, she pulled her two dogs into the safety of the hallway from their cage that was by the front door and later on the kitten was removed from the apartment unharmed found in a mattress hiding. Firefighters from the rescue squad arrived on scene and began to make their way up to the fire floor. Truck two arrived on scene and took a position in the roadway next to the river. Firefighters on the fire floor began to evacuate residence to a safe location.

The sprinkler head in the apartment burst while firefighters were conducting a primary search of the apartment holding the fire to the living room/ dining area. Firefighters set up their high-rise packs on the fire floor and knocked down the remaining fire. Crews began to conduct overhaul inside of the apartment while firefighter's shutdown the sprinkler system on the fourth floor. Engine two and truck one showed up on scene 20 minutes into the fire after crews brought the fire under control.

Fire Investigator ‘s arrived on scene and were accompanied by members of the Troy Federal Housing Authority Police Department. No injuries were reported, and the two dogs and cat were reported to be not hurt. Even with a total of nine firefighters shorthanded on the initial alarm for a working high-rise fire, firefighters still were able to bring the incident under control in an adequate amount of time.

The apartment owner has set up a Go Fund me to help with the loss of their personal belongings for her two children, two dogs, kitten and her to help them get through these hard times. Please see the link below if you can help the family in need. https://www.gofundme.com/.../vs74sd-help-us-to-get-back...