WATERFORD, NY - On December 4, 2024, at 3:46 A.M., the Waterford FD, Boght Community Fire Co. for the FAST, and Waterford Rescue Squad was dispatched to 54 Broad Street for multiple calls reporting a structure fire with entrapment.

The Waterford Police Department arrived on scene and had heavy smoke showing from the building, with people from the second-floor evacuating from the structure. The officer on scene requested EMS, as he had numerous victims from the fire and one person still trapped on the third-floor of the structure. The first chief that called en route to the scene requested the second-alarm to be transmitted. The second-alarm brought Halfmoon-Waterford FD, Mechanicville FD, Northside FD, and Clifton Park EMS to the scene. The police department on scene confirmed they had an elderly male trapped on the third-floor of the structure, along with a three-year-old with smoke inhalation.

The first arriving chief immediately notified the dispatcher that they had a working structure fire with confirmed entrapment and heavy smoke showing on the second and third floors in a three-story commercial apartment building. The chief was able to confirm that everybody was out of the second-floor. Command advised the first arriving unit to immediately hit the hydrant on the nearby corner and lay into the scene, and to have the interior crew ready to go.

The first arriving truck company set up in the roadway and put their bucket to the third-floor. Firefighters deployed a one-and-three-quarter-inch hand line and made their way to the side door of the apartment building. One firefighter tossed the ladder to the front of the structure and took out the air conditioner in the window in order to get access to the second-floor. Sheriff deputies and police officers on scene assisted firefighters in stretching multiple hand lines and moving large diameter hose out of the center of the roadway to get additional apparatus into the scene. As the firefighter climbed the ladder and took out the AC unit from the window, heavy fire blew out the front window as the second-floor flashed over.

The medic on scene requested two LifeNet helicopters for victims from the fire. Firefighters deployed another supply line to the scene as they had numerous exposure issues on the 'bravo' and 'delta' sides of the structure. EMS command requested Troy Fire and Colonie EMS to the scene with Cyanokit for the victims from the fire. The young child was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Albany Medical Center for their injuries from the fire.

Firefighters in the front of the building made their way to the second-floor with a hand line to attempt to make an aggressive interior attack as they had additional firefighters attempting to make their way to the third-floor from the stairwell in the front of the structure in order to conduct a rescue of the trapped victim. Extremely heavy fire pushed out the rear of the structure, consuming the entire second and third floors, and began spreading to the neighboring building. The heat was so intense from the fire that it began to cause the trees nearby to smoke.

Firefighters in the rear of the building had Halfmoon-Waterford's FD’s truck company lay in to the church parking lot and firefighters deployed multiple hand lines from the truck company into the yard and up the stairwell of the neighboring building that had begun to catch fire. Firefighters yelled for the pump operator to charge the lines. As firefighters were walking to the rear of the building, one of them fell on the icy surface from the heavy amount of water flowing on scene. The hand lines quickly began to get charged and firefighters on the exterior portion of the structure began to knock down the heavy fire condition. The truck company that quickly set up on scene deployed its aerial device while the pump operator charged the pipe to the ladder, and firefighters went into master stream operations.

Firefighters in the front of the structure continued to attempt to make an aggressive push inside of the building, but extremely heavy smoke and heat forced them back. As firefighters were working in the front of the structure venting the windows, heavy fire rolled across the second-floor apartment and back out the windows. Command transmitted the third-alarm, requesting resources from the Round Lake FD for another rapid intervention team to the scene, Maplewood FD for a cover company to Northside fire station, Hill Crest FD to the scene, Clifton Park FD to standby, Jonesville FD for a standby, Rexford FD for a county move up, Visher Ferry FD, and the West Crescent FD for cover companies. As firefighters were working on scene, command pulled them from the building and allowed them to change their bottles out as the Mechanicville and Waterford truck companies opened up their master streams, knocking down a heavy portion of the heavy fire in the building.

With the significant amount of water flowing on scene, firefighters took out the front door of the commercial structure below and heavy amounts of water flowed out of the building, along with boxes of Pokémon cards, and other sports memorabilia. Firefighters on scene changed out their air bottles and waited for command to give them the go ahead to go back into the structure and finish hitting hot spots. Within one hour, firefighters had a significant portion of the fire under control. Command was able to confirm that they had six patients on scene that were treated for injuries from the fire and transported to the local hospital. The Saratoga County cause and origin team arrived on scene and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control was contacted for additional resources to the scene for the investigation.

Firefighters continued hitting hot spots and overhauling the scene while fire investigators worked to determine the cause of the fire. Firefighters remained on scene until the late hours of the morning as investigators worked to remove the victim on the third-floor that did not survive the fire. Later that day, the child from the fire that was brought to the hospital was transported to the Shriners Hospital for children in New England for her injuries.

The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control has not released their official cause of the fire. Broad Street remained close throughout the entire day and reopened that evening. The entire building was a total loss. No injuries were reported by firefighters on scene. The identity of the deceased victim has not been released to the public.