TOWN OF BETHLEHEM, NY - An arrest has been made after multiple families were displaced following a large structure fire in the Town of Bethlehem that destroyed two apartment buildings on Tuesday, May 30th.

Numerous fire departments responded to reports of a fire at 11 Equinox Ct around 7:30 P.M. Upon the arrival of a Slingerlands Fire Chief, it was reported there was heavy fire in the rear of building 11, as well as building 9 that was on fire and portions of brush on fire in the woods behind building 9.

Chief Craig Sleurs of the Slingerlands Fire Department says the rear portions of the building were heavily involved in fire due to the wooden back decks. He also says the brush fires in the woods behind building 11 had traveled through to Kenwood Avenue. 

Each building contained four apartments, totaling eight that were destroyed. Chief Sleurs said there were a total of 18 individuals that were displaced by the fire, all of which were assisted by the Red Cross. There were no injuries reported to any of the residents. Sleurs says one firefighter was evaluated on scene by EMS for heat exhaustion, but was released on scene. 

Firefighters were able to rescue a cat, several guinea pigs and a snake from the fire, however, the conditions of the animals are unknown at this time. Sleurs was also unsure of any other animals that may have still been inside any of the apartments. Sleurs says it took approximately two hours to get the bulk of the fire knocked down. 

Fire crews faced difficulty fighting the fire due to the two buildings being on fire, as well as a brush fire at the same time. With the fire hydrant on scene being on a dead end, and with the amount of fire that firefighters were faced with, they did not have a sufficient amount of water to fight all of that fire. 

“There just wasn’t enough water to fight two fully-involved structure fires and a brush fire at the same time,” Sleurs said. 

This need for additional water resulted in tankers being requested to the scene to supply additional water to fight the blaze. Firefighters worked late into the night to finish putting out hot spots. 

Agencies on scene and on standby included Slingerlands, Delmar, Elsmere, Selkirk, New Salem, North Bethlehem, Onesquethaw, McKownville, Westmere, Voorheesville and Coeymans fire departments. Also assisting were Bethlehem Police, Delmar-Bethlehem EMS, Albany County Paramedics, New York State Fire and the Red Cross. 

Following an investigation by the Bethlehem Police Department, Juan W. Miranda, 35, of Delmar, was arrested on Friday, June 2nd, in connection with the fire, according to a statement from police. 

According to police, Miranda was arrested for Making a False Written Statement in connection with the fire. 

“Miranda is being charged with providing false information in a written statement to detectives during the initial investigation,” Bethlehem Police said in a press release. “The investigations revealed that Miranda was smoking a marijuana cigarette in the courtyard near buildings #9 and #11 Equinox Ct, which resulted in the ignition of dried lawn debris. Due to the dry conditions, the fire spread rapidly, causing both buildings to become fully-involved.” 

The ground was covered with poplar seeds, which are the fluffy and white seeds, resembling cotton, that can be seen all over the ground across the region. Fire departments all over the area have seen numerous brush fires due to these very flammable seeds spreading fire with the combined hot and dry conditions the area has been seeing. 

Once the discarded cigarette caught the poplar seeds, the fire took off and caught both buildings on fire. Miranda is due back in Bethlehem Town Court on June 20th.