Afternoon fire leaves seven homeless in Rotterdam

PHOTOGRAPHER: Justin Mason

Fire ripped through the attic crawl space of a a Helderberg Avenue house this afternoon, slightly injuring a woman and leaving a family of seven homeless.

Schenectady County Fire Coordinator John Nuzback said the fire was first reported around 1:55 p.m., when Rotterdam dispatchers received numerous 911 calls indicating people trapped in a burning house. Upon arrival, crews from the Rotterdam Fire District 2 found flames shooting from the roof vents of a two-story brick house at 1924 Helderberg Ave.

“The fire appears to have started in the attic area,” Nuzback said at the scene.

Nuzback said all of the home’s seven residents —including four young children —were able to flee the burning building before fire crews arrived. He said a woman sustained a minor cut, but refused medical attention.

Firefighters later rescued a pair of pet rabbits and a bird from the home.

Crews were able to get the blaze under control about 10 minutes after they arrived, but battled stubborn hot spots in the roof for nearly an hour. Fire police shut down nearly a quarter-mile stretch of Helderberg Avenue from Curry Road to Priscilla Lane.

Nuzback said the family would not be able to return to the home, which sustained significant smoke and water damage on the second floor. He said the family had indicated they might stay with a local relative, but the American Red Cross was contacted just in case.

Fire officials are still trying to determine the cause of the fire. Nuzback said the home was equipped with fire alarms, but he was unsure if they were functioning.

“They were in there, but [the family] didn’t hear them go off,” he said.