Albany Fire Department fights blaze in vacant building

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ALBANY – Albany firefighters battling into the evening Wednesday to extinguish a blaze that consumed a vacant commercial building near the intersection of North Slappey Boulevard and Eighth Avenue.

First responders closed North Slappey Boulevard for a brief period during the afternoon when the smoke from the fire was at its thickest. The call for service came in at about 1:45 p.m., Albany Fire Department Capt. Marion Covin said.

The Eighth Avenue Professional Building, located west of the O’Reilly Auto Parts building on Slappey, was still billowing smoke at 4:30 p.m. and small flickers of flames could be seen periodically at the roof as firefighters poured water on the building from two aerial boom trucks.

Firefighters on the ground also were using multiple hoses to douse the building.

Heavy winds throughout the afternoon hindered extinguishing the blaze, Covin, who was the battalion chief at the scene, said.

“The wind effect is working dead against us, increasing the flames, increasing the burn,” he said. “As soon as we put it out, it rekindles. The wind is not our friend.”

There also was a heavy “fire load” of materials inside the building, Covin said.

The wind also sent the smell of the smoke all over the city. As the six crews working at the scene had been battling the fire for several hours, the fire captain expected units from stations located out in the county to be called in to relieve them.

“It’s fully involved,” he said. “We’re still going to be here for a while.”

No cause for the blaze was identified at the scene. No injuries were at the site, Albany Emergency Medical Service Director Sam Allen said.