Firefighters battle blaze on Fifth Street in Scotia (with video)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

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A kitchen fire caused extensive damage to the first floor of a Scotia apartment house this afternoon.

Firefighters were called to 206 Fifth St. just after 1 p.m. The downstairs resident, the only person home at the time, spotted the fire and evacuated. A dog also got out unharmed, Scotia Fire Chief Charlie Keller said.

“We arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming out of the kitchen window,” Keller said. “With a quick, aggressive attack, we were able to knock the fire down to the first floor.”

The fire itself, however, also extended to the attic, apparently up the outside wall. There was minor fire damage there. The second floor also sustained heat, smoke and water damage.

Firefighters could be seen attacking the attic portion, climbing up a ladder to the roof and cutting a hole with a chainsaw. The front door of the downstairs apartment was blackened.

In all, a total of five people lived in the apartment house, Keller said. The Red Cross was being called in to assist.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated, Keller said. The fire began in the downstairs apartment’s kitchen area. It was not immediately clear how.

The home is salvageable, Keller said.

The home is located across Fifth Street from the Holyrood House, a community of 96 subsidized apartments aimed at seniors and the disabled. Some residents and others watched the blaze from a patio area directly across from the fire.

Firefighters from Scotia and surrounding communities, including Schenectady, responded to the scene.