By Dennis Yusko
The Times-Union
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — A fire that ripped into a historic three-story building in Franklin Square and injured a city firefighter was likely started by an electrical malfunction in a second-floor laundry room, fire officials said Monday.
The smoky blaze in the late 19th-century Victorian mansion started minutes before midnight Friday, and was reported by a resident.
The fire caused damage to the wood structure’s second and third floors and the northeast part of its attic, but firefighters knocked it down within an hour to save the building.
No one in the building was injured, but a handful of people who rent units in the mixed-use building may have to wait for repairs before returning, Assistant Fire Chief John Betor said.
Veteran Firefighter John Longo sprained a wrist after he opened an interior door and fell down a staircase.
The fire is not considered suspicious, he said. It moved through “void spaces” in the old building’s walls, making it hard to track, Betor said.
“The crews did an outstanding job controlling this fire and saving the building. It would have been devastating to the historic nature of this community if this building was lost,” Chief Robert Williams said.
Built around 1880, 2 Franklin Square had served as a hotel for decades before falling into disrepair during the 1970s, Betor said.
The building was condemned before city resident Bob Israel bought and refurbished the property around 1980, Betor said. It is now apartments and business offices.
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