On January 5th at 6:30 P.M., the West Crescent Fire Department, Boght Fire Company for the RIT, and Clifton Park EMS were dispatched to 132 Dunsbach Road for a reported structure fire. The caller was an individual driving by, stating that the house was on fire.

Car 69-9 from the West Crescent Fire Department arrived on scene and radioed the dispatcher that he had a working structure fire with heavy fire in the garage and breezeway area, extending into the house, and requested the second-alarm.

Command requested national grid to the scene, as he had a gas meter that melted off the structure and was actively burning. The Clifton Park Fire Department, Halfmoon-Waterford Fire Department, and Visher Ferry Fire Department were dispatched to the scene. The first engine on scene took the driveway and firefighters immediately deployed a one-and-three-quarter-inch inch hand line to the garage, the breezeway, and the Bravo side of the structure. Command notified the incoming fire chief that he had heavy fire spreading up the side of the house into the second-floor. The pump operator on scene hit the house with a master stream from the deck gun, knocking down a significant portion of the fire on the exterior portion of the house.

Firefighters on scene hand laid the large diameter hose up to the roadway for the next incoming engine to establish a water supply. Firefighters on the next incoming engine laid their large diameter hose down the roadway over 600-feet to the scene. As firefighters continued to work on scene, heavy fire extended into the second-floor area and began to push out the front windows of the structure and out of the Delta side of the structure. Firefighters coming in from the opposite direction located a closer hydrant and established the water supply. Firefighters utilized a hand line from the exterior portion of the structure and began to knock down a significant portion of the fire from the exterior. As they were doing so, firefighters deployed a three-quarter-inch hand line in to the front door of the structure and began to conduct an aggressive interior attack.

Firefighters on the Bravo side of the structure utilized the hand line to knock down the significant fire pushing from the garage roof area and the breezeway. Firefighters utilized a rotary saw to cut open the garage doors. Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the heavy fire in the garage area and in the breezeway. There was still an active fire from the gas meter, so a firefighter on scene utilized a halligan bar and shut off the gas at the bottom of the pipe to stop the gas fed fire. As this was going on, the engine operator on scene requested the hydrants to be charged as they were running low on water. Firefighters inside of the structure conducting an aggressive interior attack were able to knock down all of the heavy fire inside of the structure and additional firefighters began to make their way inside to pull apart the ceiling to check the roof of the structure and make sure that there was no hidden fire.

Firefighters on scene began to establish scene lighting, and the Jonesville Fire Department was brought to the scene with the rehab unit for firefighters who were working on scene. With the extremely cold temperatures, the water and foam being utilized to battle the fire quickly began to freeze. Command requested national grid to the scene with a gas crew, as they were going to have to dig up the main out at the roadway and shut it off. Firefighters continued to conduct extensive overhaul of the badly damaged home and to search for the family’s pets inside. Firefighters on scene came out of the house, exchanged their air bottles and a new crew made their way inside of the structure to continue to conduct extensive overhaul of the badly damaged house. Fire investigators arrived on scene and began to conduct their investigation into the cause of the fire.

Firefighters remained on scene for a significant portion of the evening. Fire Investigators worked until the early hours of the morning conducting their investigation. National grid shut down the power and gas to the home. The building department and code enforcement was brought into the scene to check into the structural stability of the building. No injuries were reported. Unfortunately, the family's pets perished in the fire. Firefighters went back into service in the late evening hours.