Amsterdam native dies after trailer fire

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kyle Adams

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An Amsterdam native has died after suffering severe burns in a fire at his residence in Johnstown last weekend.

According to Fulton County Fire Coordinator Steven Santa Maria, 51-year-old Alan J. Drenzek died at Syracuse University Hospital Wednesday or Thursday.

Drenzek was airlifted to the hospital in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 2 after suffering burns in a fire at a residential trailer at 130 Red Schoolhouse Road in the town of Johnstown.

“When fire crews arrived they saw what appeared to be a single-car garage with an attached shed fully involved in fire,” said Santa Maria. “They also noticed the burn victim in the backyard of the single-wide trailer.”

Santa Maria said another resident, Owen Bailey, was trying to “cool the burn victim with a garden hose” when the Sir William Johnson Fire Department arrived and immediately began attending to Drenzek.

Bailey did not report any injuries in the fire.

Firefighters from multiple agencies were able to suppress the fire before it engulfed the trailer, Santa Maria said.

The cause is currently under investigation by the Fulton County Fire Coordinator’s Office, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.