Death Toll at Schenectady Fire Reaches Four

SCHENECTADY — Two more sets of human remains were found Saturday in the Jay Street apartment buildings destroyed in a massive blaze last week, Schenectady police said at a 3 p.m. news conference. The total number of confirmed fatalities now stands at four.

Members from the Schenectady Fire Department and agents from the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau located two set of remains inside 104 Jay St. Saturday, Sgt. M. Dearing said. The remains were removed and turned over to the medical examiner for identification and further investigation.

Earlier in the day, a dog was found by firefighters on the fourth floor of 100-102 Jay St. Members from the Schenectady Fire Department and Schenectady Police Department noticed the dog's head sticking out a window on the Liberty Street side of the building, Dearing said. They then used a fire truck's ladder and bucket to reach the pitbull mix, which was huddled in a corner of an apartment. Officials said the animal had been holed up there since the fire on March 6. There was still some food it its bowl and frozen water in its dish. They surmise the ice may have helped the dog survive.

Officials checked a Facebook page set up by owners of pets that have been missing since the blaze and were able to locate the pitbull mix's owner.

Staci Lydon of Schenectady said she had worried about her dog, Zeus, for 8 days since the fire tore through 100-102 and 104 Jay St., killing at least two people and displacing some 60 residents. She did not live in either building, but her dog was there being cared for by a friend.

Investigators remain on the scene, searching for victims and trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

Harry Simpson, 59, and Jermaine Allen, 37, were identified Friday as the two victims of the fire whose bodies were recovered from the charred buildings earlier this week. Officials said the cause of death would not be released until the probe by police, fire officials and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is completed.

———

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC