ALBANY, NY - On July 12th around 10:43 P.M., the severely understaffed dispatchers at the City of Albany’s dispatch center began to take multiple calls for a working structure fire in the area of 883 Broadway. Engine two, engine one, truck one, truck two, engine five, the rescue squad, rescue nine, Mohawk Ambulance Service, and the battalion chief were dispatched to the scene. The Albany Police Department's zone officers arrived on scene and notified the dispatcher that the incident was on Learned Street again, and they had heavy fire on arrival. As they were coming down the roadway, Engine Two notified the dispatcher that they had heavy fire showing from Learned Street. Engine two arrived on scene and began to stretch multiple hand lines to the front of the building. Truck two and ladder three set up in the front of the building while ladder one set up in the parking lot of the fire building.

Knowing this was going to be a defensive operation, as they had a heavy fire load in a two-story heavy timber commercial warehouse-style structure, firefighters worked to establish a water supply from a nearby hydrant on Broadway, but the hydrant was out of service. Command transmitted the second-alarm to bring the City of Troy, and Watervliet Arsenal Fire Department into the City of Albany, and Engine Seven, Engine Ten, Truck Four, and Engine Nine responded to assist at the scene. Firefighters on scene deployed a blitz fire to the front of the building, and multiple truck companies quickly set up on the scene as they had heavy fire blowing through the roof of the building. Firefighters utilized a rotary saw and began to cut the garage doors open so firefighters could use the blitz fire and a hand line to attempt to knock down the fire inside the commercial structure. Firefighters also cut a hole in the fence and deployed a two-and-a-half-inch hand line into the construction yard of the property. Firefighters looked for a way to gain access to the building.

As firefighters continued to work on the scene, thick heavy black turbulent smoke began to push from the second-floor of the structure in the rear portion of the building. As firefighters continued to work, the smoke became more violent and more turbulent, indicating they had a heavy fire condition inside of the building and a significant fuel load. Firefighters continued to utilize master streams into the windows of the building to attempt to disrupt the thermal layering occurring. Firefighters continued to work the heavy fire that blew through the center of the warehouse in the rear portion of the building, sending a fireball and hot embers into the night sky. Truck one, on the 'bravo' side of the structure, continued to utilize their master streams in knocking down a significant portion of the fire, and as they were doing so, a large portion of the roof gave way and sent another fireball into the sky. 

Firefighters around the building continued to utilize master streams for an extended period of time. Command set up in the front side of the structure and set up a collapse zone where they kept firefighters away from. The city engineer arrived on the scene and began to assess the structural damage and notified command that the building would have to be torn down due to it being unsafe. Firefighters continued to utilize master streams until the early hours of the morning. Fire investigators arrived on the scene and began to conduct their investigation into the cause of the fire. This area of the city of Albany has had multiple significant fires and incidences in the last few months. No injuries were reported on the scene. Firefighters went back into service later the next day. The fire is currently under investigation.