Local & State Headlines

Albany home gutted by fire

• Officials estimate fire and water damage to Albany home to be near $80,000.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — A family of four was displaced Tuesday after a fire destroyed their Albany home, fire officials say.

Around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, firefighters responded to a home fully engulfed in flames on the 1800 block of West Waddell Avenue. Within 30 minutes the fire was contained and firefighters went through the remains of the house searching for hot spots.

“It looks to be a cooking fire,” Albany Fire Chief James Carswell said. “The house itself is a total loss, but it appears to have started in the kitchen.”

The occupants of the house, two adults and two children, were being provided temporary housing by the American Red Cross, who had been called to the site to assist. Their names weren’t immediately released.

“All in all, it looks to be about $80,000 in damages,” Carswell said.

Even after the visible flames were gone, fire crews peeled back crispy drywall and poked through charred remnants of the home’s ceiling searching for hot spots.

Lt. Gregory Drummer gave the chief a progress report after securing the outside of the home.

“It’s pretty bad inside, chief, but we’re about to do a walk through,” he said. “The kitchen is pretty burnt up, so it looks like it started in there.”

On the front yard of the house, firefighters exchanged air tanks and rested while relief crews were working inside, a scenario that afforded Carswell and Assistant Chief Ron Rowe the opportunity to implement the department’s new volunteer corps.

“Yeah, we’ve got them out here to supply some support to the guys,” Carswell said. “They’re really a valuable asset to the department.”

Volunteers go through an intensive training process and provide vital services to augment the efforts of the department’s firefighters, Carswell said.