Massive blaze with explosions in Colonie
COLONIE, N.Y.(NEWS10) - A massive fire broke out at the BBL Construction building at 1204 Kings Road in Colonie Friday afternoon.
Flames could be seen shooting through the roof and the thick black smoke could be seen for miles coming from the complex around 1:30 in the afternoon. The roadway was closed between Morris Road and Curry Road, to all traffic.
The Fuller Road Fire Chief, Mike Romano says the building is believed to be a repair shop with many flammable gases and chemicals that caused multiple explosions.
“We incurred a high amount of heat with explosions in a very short period of time [and] for the safety of our men we withdrew them; we started an exterior attack which is where we stayed the entire time,” said Romano.
The chief says over a dozen local fire departments responded and he says it is one of the largest fires he's seen in the past few years and the crews faced multiple challenges when trying to put out the blaze.
“The problem we run into here out here in the very west end of the town of Colonie, there's no hydrants. This as you can see is a tanker operation. We laid over a mile of supply line to get water to this fire, which takes a long time,” said Romano.
“It's definitely a big issue, but it's no different than in rural hill towns. And the hill towns are used to running operations like this,” continued Romano.
The chief also says it was the largest response he has seen in almost 40 years on the job.
“This is probably the first tank revolution I've seen in 37 years of fighting fires here in the Town of Colonie. I've never seen a tank revolution before like this so it's not common,” said Romano.
Officials say one person who was in the building on arrival was treated for smoke inhalation. There are no other injuries reported at this time and the cause of the blaze is unknown and under investigation. NEWS10 will continue to follow the latest in details to this fire and bring you those updates both on air and online at NEWS10.com.