On February 15, 2025, at 7:15 PM, the city of Albany’s Emergency Communication Center received a transfer call for a reported structure fire from the Rensselaer County Emergency Communication Center at 263 Northern Boulevard. Engine two, rescue two, truck two, engine one, the rescue squad, engine five Mohawk Ambulance Service and the battalion chief responded to the scene. The caller reported a possible basement fire and there was a language barrier.

With Arbor Hills Fire House directly around the corner from the incident firefighters quickly arrived on scene with smoke showing from the basement of the building and transmitted the signal thirty for a work structure fire. Engine two’s crew pulled a hand line to the front of the building and deployed the hand line into the front of the house and attempted to locate the door leading to the basement. As firefighters conducted a primary search of the building, they learned that they had to pull out of the building and make their way around the side of the building as the only entranceway to the basement was in the rear of the structure. As firefighters made their way down into the basement, they had heavy smoke pushing out of the doorway with extreme heat down in the basement and visibility near zero.

Command requested a mechanic to respond to the scene as they were having problems with one of the primary engines and command requested an additional engine to the scene. Command requested firefighters on the exterior portion of the structure to begin to vent the windows as firefighters in the basement had zero visibility and high temperatures in the basement. Command was notified by the police department that there was possible entrapment still inside of the building. Firefighters quickly made their way to the second floor of the building and continue to search the first floor. Firefighters also in the basement continued to push towards the seat of the fire.

Firefighters in the basement requested the line to be charged and the pressure to be increased. As firefighters were continuing to push deeper into the basement heavy fire blew out the windows of the structure from the basement windows. Firefighters opened up the hand line inside of the structure and began to knock down some of the superheated gases to prevent the smoke from igniting. Command on the exterior portion of the structure notified them that they had good fire showing still from the exterior portion of the structure from the alpha-delta side of the structure. Firefighters in the basement continued to make an aggressive push towards the seat of the fire. Firefighters on the first-floor notified command that they had a hole that had burned through the floor. Firefighters continue to make an aggressive push in the basement even though they had zero visibility and heavy fire still pushing from the basement windows.

Command notified the interior crew that conditions were continuing to deteriorate from the exterior portion of the structure that he now had heavy fire shown from the bravo side windows of the basement. Firefighters in the basement notified command that it has become extremely hot in the basement and command notified them if they’re not making any progress in the next two minutes they were pulling them from the structure. Firefighters on the first floor and second floor notified command that everybody was out of the structure and the search was negative. Command checked on the firefighters in the basement and notified them to evacuate the structure they’re going to hit it from the windows from the exterior portion of the structure. Firefighters quickly regrouped in the rear of the structure and notified command that they were all out of the building.

A par check as conducted, and firefighters utilized hand lines from the exterior portion of the structure and knocked down the heavy fire in the basement. As soon as firefighters had the fire knocked down from the exterior portion of the structure and conditions that have become more favorable firefighters made their way down into the basement and finished knocking down all of the remaining fire. Firefighters made their way inside of the structure and conducted a secondary search of the building making sure there was no one inside. Firefighters in the basement began to conduct extensive overhaul of the basement as the heavy fire condition caused significant damage.

The police department on scene conducted their investigation into the fire by interviewing multiple residents from the building. Fire investigators arrived on scene and began to conductor investigation into what caused the fire. No injuries were reported, and firefighters remained on scene for an extended period of time.