New York Firefighter Injured in Structure Fire

SCHENECTADY — A city firefighter was hospitalized with a severe leg fracture battling a suspicious fire at a home Tuesday morning where a man was shot dead earlier this month, authorities said.

Lt. Michelle Wilson was expected to undergo surgery at Ellis Hospital where she was taken after being hurt in the 4 a.m. blaze at 933 Albany St. Fire Chief Robert Farstad said the cause of the fire is suspicious.

Ulysses Canty, 40, died Sept. 1 after being shot inside a downstairs apartment there. Police said they had no information to indicate a connection.

It was the second fire in the city overnight. At 9 p.m. Monday night, firefighters battled a blaze at 12 Grove Place that fire left 22 people homeless.

Officials said the Albany Street house had several apartments but only one was occupied.

The four residents had escaped by the time firefighters arrived. The home’s ground floor and attic were badly damaged. The fire also caused minor damage to a home at 935 Albany St.

Nearly two dozen residents, including 16 in one apartment, were displaced by Monday night’s larger fire that all but destroyed a two-family building and threatened to spread to neighboring structures.

Everyone got out safely, but a number of firefighters who responded to the blaze nearly got caught inside when something — an explosion or intense burst of flame — occurred, Farstad said.

Despite the number of people living in the building, it doesn’t appear the arrangement violated city codes, City Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said.

West Coast firefighting news source - The Times Union