Copyright 2005 The Hearst Corporation
The Times Union (Albany, New York)
GUILDERLAND, N.Y. - A fire forced a Guilderland family from their home Christmas Eve and sent a Fort Hunter fire lieutenant to the hospital with burns on the side of his head.
Colored lights still twinkled around the shattered second-story windows of 7243 Belleview Drive as firefighters battled smoke throughout the evening. Four people were home at the time, but all escaped uninjured. Fort Hunter Fire Chief Bill Kanas called the house uninhabitable. The fire spread quickly up the walls into the roof, he said.
Kanas couldn’t remember what time Saturday the fire was called in. But by 10 p.m., he said “We’re going to be here for hours.”
No information was available late Saturday on the firefighter’s condition.
Police officers stopped all traffic on East Lydius Street from Sundew Drive to Coons Road.
Several neighbors watched the fire from Lydius Street. Justin Malloy had just come home from church. His mother had stopped at an uncle’s house, where he told her to stay because of the roadblock and not to come home.
“It stinks. People are all getting ready for Christmas, and this has to ruin their night, month and year,” Malloy said.
In an unrelated incident, a man driving a sedan was arrested at the roadblock at Coons and Lydius after he apparently went off the road shortly after 8:30 p.m. No more information about that arrest was available Saturday night.