ROTTERDAM Apartment fire displaces 5 Patton Drive blaze apparently accidental, officials say BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Fire ripped through a ground-level apartment on Patton Drive Monday evening, damaging the building and leaving five residents temporarily without homes. Carman Fire Chief Scott Sloan said it appeared the blaze broke out in a first-floor bedroom of 1733 Patton Drive around 5:30 p.m. He said the resident was alerted to the fire when the building filled with smoke. “He fell asleep on a couch, awoke to the fire and then got out of the building,” Sloan said from the scene. Four area fire districts responded and were able to knock down the flames within 15 minutes. Sloan said there were no injuries, and the fire is not considered suspicious. “It was probably an accident,” he said. The building sustained heavy damage on its fi rst floor. Sloan said the second floor didn’t appear to be as bad. Building tenants Charlie and Karen Lancto were working at a pizzeria in Guilderland, when a friend shopping at the nearby Wal-Mart on Altamont Avenue noticed fire crews at the residence. He said they rushed home after hearing the news. “I was in the middle of the dinner rush,” he said. “I almost had a heart attack.” Though unsure of how much damage his apartment sustained, Lancto was thankful his two young daughters weren’t home when the fire broke out. He was also thankful fi refighters rescued his springer spaniel, Trixe, from her hiding space on the second floor. PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Firefighters climb down a fire escape from the second floor of an apartment dwelling on Patton Drive in Rotterdam, after flames seriously damaged the unit Monday, displacing at least fi ve residents
Candle called factor in Rotterdam fire ROTTERDAM — An unattended candle is believed to have accidentally sparked the Monday evening blaze that severely damaged a Rotterdam apartment building, fi re officials said. The candle was apparently left burning in a bedroom. Firefighters were called to the 1733 Patton Drive home around 5:30 p.m. when the resident awoke to the fire. No one was injured. At least five people were displaced from the building.
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