Major Blaze in Upstate NY Causes Millions in Damage
Source Firehouse.com News
A man burning materials in a barrel in Cohoes touched of an inferno that damaged as many as 20 buildings in the downtown district Thursday afternoon.
According to television station WRGB 6News Albany, the fire on Remsen Street destroyed a popular restaurant, a sushi restaurant, other businesses and many homes, all of which have fire, smoke and water damage.
The fire which ignited from particles and embers from the burn barrel, caused millions in damage, the television station reported.
A resident of the building were the fire started, John Gomes, 51, was charged with arson in connection with the blaze.
Cohoes’ mayor, Shawn Morse, told the television station that although the fire may not have been intentional it has resulted in one of the biggest losses in the city’s history.
"We often tell people we don't allow open burns in the city and they often say 'well why? What's the worst thing that could happen,’” Morse said. “Well, this open burn just caused millions of dollars in damage and it has destroyed half of our downtown that we worked so hard to rebuild."
The mayor continued to say the city is resilient and the city will be rebuilt.
“We're going to be better than we ever have been,” the mayor said. “I know that the citizens are going to depend on our leadership and we're going to excel and we're going to make them Cohoes proud, that's we talk about all the time. I just ask them to be patient because there's a lot of work to be done."
