5/16/2016 Elevator Rescue, and Brush Fire caused by electrical issues by Greg Forgea
Late Monday morning, East Greenbush was
dispatched for a reported elevator rescue with three people trapped. Car 4 arrived,
made contact with the victims, and confirmed that nobody was injured or in need of EMS.
While making contact with the victims, Car 4 was approached by other occupants of the
building reporting an odor of smoke and problems with the lights in the building.
With the new information, Car 4 requested the alarm to be re-transmitted with a
structure fire assignment. Truck 11, Engines 7 and 8 as well as Rescue 11 operated
on scene for over two hours. The victims in the elevator were removed to the second
floor and escorted out of the building. The building and roof units were searched and
nothing found. National Grid arrived and found a power problem coming into the building and
killed power to the building. The scene was turned over to National Grid and building management
and all East Greenbush units were secured.
Again, after returning to quarters, EGFD was dispatched
for a reported brush fire in the area of the Target store. East Greenbush police arrived and found a
downed power line with a small brush fire. While units were en route, a second call came in for a
reported structure fire in the same area as the brush fire. Engine 7 handled the power line down
while truck 11, Engine 8 and Rescue 11 handled the structure fire call. Engine 7 secured the area
and awaited the arrival of National Grid to secure the downed line. The other units searched the
building and the call was unfounded. It is believed that the power surge from the downed line set off
the alarm and the wind blew the brush smoke into the building.
All units were cleared from both scenes an hour after arriving.