Fire in the Hood

we had a fire across the street from our condo tonight. i was watching the simpsons and i heard sirens. i looked out the window to the east and saw plumes of smoke wafting across the field. so i paused the dvd, grabbed my camera, keys and shoes and ran out the door. i ran into a neighbor and we joined the crowds outside. it was 5pm. a fireman was trying to wrench off the cover to the hydrant on the corner of our property. he was working very fast and getting a little frustrated because he couldn't get the hose coupling to thread correctly. he eventually got it and got the hose going. bill and i headed to the alley to the east of albany because we saw the smoke coming from that direction. this fire had happened so quickly that people were really close to the house that was on fire. at the corner of the alley and the sidewalk (about 100 yards away) we could feel the heat from the fire billowing out the back of the third floor of the building. it appeared to be an attached porch that had 10 foot flames shooting out of the top. from the front of the building, they had a hook and ladder truck spraying the fire from above. i could hear the sizzle and pop from the water hitting the flame. smoke and black ash was floating through the air, making it hard to breathe.

we then relocated to the front building and watched the firemen break out all of the windows from the sunrooms and the living rooms. eventually, the police made us all get back and they put up yellow police tape. it was weird standing on our lawn, watching this building burn. along with hundreds of our neighbors. there were at least six fire trucks that i could see on albany and argyle and in the alley. there were also about six cop cars, one parked on our lawn. there was an ambulance parked down on argyle west of troy. i had heard from a fireman in the alley that there was an old woman on the first floor. i read on the tribune later that someone went to swedish covenant hospital in fair-to-serious condition from a medical condition not related to the fire. and, as the fire was raging through the back of the building, i hoped to God that there wasn't anyone on the top two floors.

eventually, we went back to our condos. some of the fire trucks left around 6:15. as of 8pm, they were all gone, but the road was still blocked off. it is now 8:48pm and Com Ed is working in front of the building to cut off the gas lines, i'm assuming. Here are some pics of the building before the fire.

here is the burning out building in its final state. i'm sure they'll board up the windows tomorrow. and i'm also sure this will sit empty and bombed out for quite some time.