ALBANY, NY - On June 17th at 7:06 A.M., the City of Albany FD was dispatched to 313 Delaware Avenue for multiple calls reporting a well involved house fire. Thick heavy brown smoke filled the clear blue sky over the south end of the city of Albany for miles. Truck 4 immediately transmitted the Signal 30 as they had heavy fire showing from the second floor of the structure.

Multiple engine companies quickly arrived on scene and firefighters deployed multiple hand lines to the front door of the house. With heavy fire blowing over the tops of the firefighters heads from the second floor and thick brown smoke pushing from the roof and all of the windows, firefighters made their way up the stairs where they encountered extreme heat and heavy fire conditions. With multiple exposure issues on both sides of the structure, command transmitted the second-alarm to bring in two additional engine companies, a truck company, and a rescue squad. Firefighters were able to confirm that everyone was out of the house and all residents were accounted for.

Several engine companies connected to the nearby fire hydrants and established a water supply for the scene. With a significant amount of power lines in front of the structure, Truck 4 was not able to get its ladder up and was forced to keep its stick in the air. Truck 2 pulled in next to Truck 4 and maneuvered through the power lines to get close to the house. Firefighters inside of the structure were making an aggressive attack and driving the fire back. As heavy thick brown smoke continued to push from the roof area of the house, the front portion of the home collapsed forward onto the porch.

Firefighters in the front of the building used a two-and-a-half inch hand line and began to knock down the heavy fire running the eaves of the building. Command advised the crews inside of the second floor that they had heavy fire pushing from the roof and also traveling the attic. An additional hand line was brought up to the second floor and firefighters began to pull ceilings to knock down any visible fire.

Firefighters found access to the attic area and began to knock down the heavy fire condition that was traveling over their heads. At 7:37 A.M., command notified the crews inside to make their way out of the building and that they were going to use Truck 2 to knock down the heavy fire still remaining in the roof. Truck 2 opened up his master streams and quickly began to knock down the deep-seated fire in the roof area. National grid arrived on scene and cut power to the house and at the pole for firefighters. The Red Cross was also notified and requested to the scene.

Firefighters made their way back into the structure and conducted overhaul of the severely damaged fire building for over two hours. Fire investigators arrived on scene and began to conduct their investigation into what caused the fire. Delaware Avenue remained closed for a good portion of the morning while crews operated on scene. No injuries were reported.