Assistant fire chief: Common denominator in downtown fires is vagrants

Assistant Albany Fire Department Chief Marcus Glass said the common denominator in a rash of recent house fires in downtown Albany is vagrants. Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY – Albany Fire Department Assistant Chief Marcus Glass has heard the whispers, the innuendos … he’s read the social media posts.

He knows nothing less would be expected when a number of fires burn sometimes well-established – always vacant – buildings in the heart of the city’s historic district.

No less than seven, and counting, buildings in central Albany have burned in the last several months, leaving many to speculate that there might be a serial arsonist at work. But Glass, who heads up AFD’s fire investigation, inspection and planning review teams, says investigations do not bear out people’s suspicions.

“Yes, proximitywise, there have been an unusual number of fires in this district,” Glass says during a conversation at his office at the department’s Station 1. “And, yes, we’ve heard the talk and read the social media posts about the speculation of someone intentionally burning these structure. But there are other factors that our trained investigators take into consideration. Most of these buildings were not insured, so no one’s collecting money for burned buildings. There was no electricity in any of them, so that was not a cause. Plus, these structures were old and had a lot of wood in them.

“The one common denominator that our inspections revealed was that there were vagrants in these buildings. And no one suspicious has been seen going in and out of them. It appears that the fires were started by vagrants and they got out of control.”

Glass said he preferred not to give the exact addresses of the downtown fires that have kept the department busier than usual over the last several months, citing privacy concerns, but the aftermath of several – on North Jackson Street, on Pine Avenue and at the corner of North Jefferson Street and West Broad Avenue – are in clear evidence as commuters travel some of the city’s busier streets.

Among many social media posts questioning the rash of fires, citizens have alluded to conspiracy theories that point to everything from gang activity to Satanic worship. “You don’t have this many fires in the same vicinity just randomly occur,” one wrote. “I’ve heard of groups being seen around some of those old buildings the same day of the fires. Surely someone’s looking into that.”

Glass assures the public that any bit of evidence is parsed before the fire department eventually turns the case over to Code Enforcement.

“Look, these are abandoned buildings with dried, aging infrastructure, and there certainly were no fire alarm systems in any of them,” he said. “And usually, even in the center of the community, the fires are burning for a while before anyone notices.”

The big question many are asking is what does the city and the fire department intend to do about these fires. Glass, who has served with AFD for 17 years, said the department recently implemented a program that leaders hope will help.

“We have a program called Code X that requires our personnel to actively go into each zone and identify these aging, abandoned structures,” he said. “If officers determine a building is unsafe, they place a red X on that building. When such a building is identified as unsafe, a Code X Committee — made up of Code Enforcement officers, 911 communications officials and fire department personnel — will send necessary officials to make contact with the owner of the building.

“The owner will be given a predetermined period of time to make necessary repairs to the structure, usually two weeks to 30 days. If they do not make the repairs, a case will be opened by Code Enforcement, leading to further action. The city attorney will get involved then.”

The red Xes, Glass said, also will alert emergency personnel to the potential danger of certain structures. 

Given that investigations at the several fires indicate involvement of vagrants, Glass said they are not “given a pass” because they are homeless.

“There are a lot of variables that go into the inspection following a fire, but if it is determined that a fire was set intentionally — maliciously — we’re going to pursue charges if applicable,” he said. “If arson was involved, we’ll make arrests”

The assistant fire chief points to a department philosophy that he says involves corporation from the community.

“We have a philosophy: Shared responsibility, shared accountability, shared success,” he said. “The public can share in that responsibility by simply acting. We ask that if they see something, say something. If we work together, that’s one way we can help prevent these fires.”