Residents say Albany fire narrowly avoided fatalities

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A second alarm fire broke out in the South End early this morning. Four people were taken to the hospital, no fatalities were reported. However, NEWS10 caught up with one resident who said they narrowly avoided fatalities. 

That resident said he and his fiance were headed to bed when she noticed smoke pouring into their apartment. That’s when they jumped into action.

When Thomas Bressingham and his fiance opened their apartment door and found the three-story building was up in flames. He said they started to evacuate the building and described how he assisted neighbors.

“Was in the window talking about he’s burning, so I got some garbage cans, laid them down. I told him to jump, he did that, he got cut with glass through his arm. I caught him. Before that, the other guy in the front apartment said he had to jump, he jumped, and I caught him,” said Bressingham. 

City of Albany Fire Chief of Department Joseph Gregory said he’s glad everyone got out safely but the chaotic scene made putting out the fire more difficult. 

“One of the challenges that they were faced with immediately upon arrival was the fact that we had some fire victims, victims that were trying to flee the fire that were injured. So in addition to having a heavy condition to deal with, they also had four injured parties to deal with and to treat,” said Gregory.

Eight people lived in three units and Bressingham says no smoke detectors or fire alarms went off. 

“Let’s face it, smoke detectors save lives. Early warning systems can prevent people from having to run and escape at that last minute,” said Gregory.

The Red Cross has assisted with some things but Bressingham said they lost everything.

“Our money was up there. Instead of going to grab our stuff we chose to go and save the rest of the building. nobody else was up,” said Bressington.

He declined medical treatment because he has to figure out where he’s going to live.

“The bottom line is low income housing, it’s the South End. It’s going to happen again and again. Thank god my wife smelled the smoke. Nobody is dead because if she didn’t, there would be dead bodies in there,” said Bressingham.

Gregory said if there had been working smoke detectors the firefighters may have been able to prevent the fire from progressing to the extent it had. But on Thursday afternoon crews worked to demolish the building. 

Preliminary reports suggest the fire started in a second floor kitchen. but the investigation is still ongoing. 

Gregory emphasized the importance of having working smoke alarms. He urges everyone to have a fire safety plan in place and to establish a meeting point in case of an emergency.