By Amy Biancolli
The Times Union
WATERVLIET, N.Y. — Six or seven fire companies and at least 40 firefighters battled a massive blaze at a Watervliet warehouse on Saturday, which broke out at an unspecified time but had spread through the building by 10 p.m.
“I’m not clear on the initial alarm time. They did have a lot of fire when they got here, and shortly after, the rest of the building was pretty much lit up,” said Watervliet Fire Chief Rob Conlen. No one was injured.
Companies fighting the blaze included Watervliet, Green Island, Cohoes and Troy.
Among the businesses housed inside the warehouse were offices of BDL Contracting, employees watching from a small park across the street as flames and smoke spilled from the rooftop. “This is my livelihood. Not just my job. This is my everything,” said T.J. Julien of Troy, who has worked there on and off since age 15 and worked on the interior. A custom siding company and a custom-counter company also had offices inside, he said.
Although it is still unclear where or how the fire started, Conlen said, “there was a lot of fire on the north end” near 4th Street when the firefighters arrived. Several parts of the building collapsed, including a wall near homes. Explosions heard by observers were unexplained, he said, and the biggest challenge so far was water. “We got a lot of hoses and not a lot of water,” he said. “We’re taxing the water system pretty good.” He anticipated fighting the fire “through the day” on Sunday.
___
(c)2016 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)