COHOES FIRE DEPARTMENT
Chief: Joseph M. Fahd Jr.
Personnel: 37 career firefighters
Apparatus: Two engines, one aerial, two reserve engines, one reserve tower ladder
Population: 15,500
Area: Three square miles
On Tuesday, March 21, 2006, a general-alarm fire started by a donut-making machine destroyed the Golden Krust Bakery and Restaurant in downtown Cohoes, NY. It was one of three general-alarm fires to occur within two months in Cohoes and required mutual aid from five neighboring departments.
The 100-year-old, two-story, L-shaped structure measured 190 by 210 feet and was built of ordinary construction. The main floor contained 40,000 square feet, which included the bakery and restaurant. The building also had a basement and there were apartments on the second floor.
The Cohoes Fire Department was dispatched to a report of smoke at the rear of the bakery, located at 180 Ontario St., at 4:52 P.M. Engines 2 and 3 and Ladder 1, a 75-foot aerial with six firefighters, responded under the command of Captain Mike Grogan. First-due Engine 3 arrived with a two-man crew at the rear (east side) of the building on Pulaski Avenue at 4:54. Firefighters observed heavy fire and smoke originating from what appeared to be a storage area. Engine 3 Pump Operator Thomas Fiffe asked Engine 2 to take the hydrant at the corner of Pulaski Avenue and Ontario Street and lay a supply line to Engine 3. Engine 2, however, took the hydrant on the northwest corner of Ontario Street and Pershing Avenue and laid a 400-foot five-inch line down Pershing Avenue, where this crew also encountered heavy fire and smoke.
Grogan entered the bakery through the front door. Patrons were still seated at tables eating their meals while smoke in the rear of the structure was almost at floor level. Grogan evacuated the 25 to 30 patrons from the restaurant. At this time, Grogan also saw fire dropping from the ceiling. Crews from both engines advanced two 1¾-inch attack lines into the building. Fiffe hand-laid 400 feet of five-inch line from the engine to the hydrant on the northwest corner of Pulaski Avenue and Ontario Street to establish a water supply. Ladder 1 was positioned behind Engine 3 on Pulaski Avenue. Two 2½-inch supply lines were laid from Engine 3 to Ladder 1. Grogan requested a second alarm at 4:57 and a mutual aid engine from the City of Troy Fire Department to respond to the scene.
Fire Chief Joseph Fahd responded to the scene in Car 1 upon the transmission of the second alarm. While enroute, Fahd requested a mutual aid engine from the Green Island Fire Department to fill in at Cohoes' Central Fire Station. The second alarm initiated the recall of one off-duty platoon of Cohoes firefighters. Grogan requested a third alarm immediately followed by a general alarm at 5:02. This initiated the recall of all off-duty Cohoes firefighters and brought reserve Engines 1 and 4 and reserve Tower 2 to the scene. Troy's engine laid an additional five-inch supply line to Cohoes Ladder 1 from a hydrant on Ontario Street.
Fahd arrived at 5:03, established a command post in front of the building on Ontario Street and assumed command of the fireground. Grogan was assigned as operations officer. As additional off-duty fire officers arrived on scene, they were assigned duties: Lieutenant Wilfred Charbonneau was assigned as safety officer; Captain James Wier was assigned to the east side; Captain Mike Spizowski to the west side and Captain James Fennen to the front of the building. As the fire continued to spread out of control, additional mutual aid was called to the scene. Troy sent a 100-foot tower ladder; Green Island sent an engine; the Watervliet Arsenal Fire Department sent a 75-foot aerial and the City of Watervliet Fire Department sent an aerial and one engine to Cohoes for standby. The City of Albany Fire Department was asked to send two engines to cover the City of Troy and was also requested to send two additional engines to the scene to establish additional water supplies and provide manpower for firefighting operations.
Cohoes Tower 2 was positioned in front of the building and supplied by a 2½-inch line from the Green Island pumper that had taken a hydrant west of the fire at Ontario and Saratoga streets. Firefighters attempted to ventilate the roof from Tower 2, but found that the roof was unsafe for any operations. Troy Tower 1 was also positioned in front of the building and was supplied by a five-inch line from a hydrant on Ontario Street east of the fire scene. Watervliet Arsenal Ladder 1 was positioned on Pershing Avenue and supplied with a three-inch line from the Green Island engine. The two engines from Albany, under the command of Deputy Fire Chief William Davis, were instructed to lay an additional five-inch supply line from Bridge Avenue to the scene, a distance of a quarter-mile. Before this was started, the Cohoes Department of Public Works was able to provide an adequate water supply to the hydrants that were in use. The crews from the Albany engines relieved some first-due Cohoes firefighters.
Fahd declared the fire under control at 11:45 P.M. Four aerial master streams, two deck guns, two portable monitors and five handlines were used to bring the fire under control. All mutual aid companies had been released by 1 A.M. Wednesday. Cohoes units remained on the scene until 4 P.M. Wednesday, 23 hours after the initial alarm. Sixty firefighters operated seven engines and four aerials at the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the fire by the Cohoes Fire Department Arson Investigation Team, the district attorney's office, members of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control and insurance investigators lasted one week. It was determined that the fire was caused by a donut-making machine in a shed at the rear of the building. Damage was estimated at $1.8 million to the building and contents. A one-story, wood-frame, two-stall garage on Pulaski Avenue was also destroyed. Firefighters protected two two-story wood-frame homes on Ontario Street and a two-story wood-frame home on Pulaski Avenue.
Located to the west of the building was a National Grid gas-distribution system. As the fire progressed, a utility pole burned through, disrupting cable TV and digital telephone service in a four-county region. It took 2½ days to restore service. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries and were transported to area hospitals, where they were treated and released. No employees or patrons of the business were injured. Weather conditions at the time of the fire were clear with temperatures in the 50s. A steady breeze was blowing from the west to the east.
This fire was the second of three general-alarm fires fought by the Cohoes Fire Department within two months. On March 1, a 1:34 A.M. arson fire destroyed Rizzo's Florist on Remsem Street, causing $200,000 in damage. An arrest and conviction were made in connection with that fire. On April 19, a 2:05 A.M. fire destroyed three two-story homes on Bridge Avenue, causing $400,000 in damage. The fire was caused by a barbecue grill on a second-floor wooden deck. The three homes were heavily involved upon the arrival of the fire department, but two other nearby homes were saved. There were no injuries. Cohoes firefighters also received mutual aid on both of the other fires.
JAY K. BRADISH/IFPA, Firehouse® news editor, is a former captain in the Bradford Township, PA, Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter and fire photographer for more than 25 years.
