Albany Fire Chief James Carswell says vagrants caused a massive fire at an old nightclub on Philema Road
The fire broke out around 3 a.m. Saturday and Investigator Sam Harris says firefighters had it under control about an hour later. Harris says they found two mattresses and a pull-out sofa bed in the building’s basement where they believe an unknown number of homeless people set up camp. No one was in the building at the time of the fire, and Harris says they don’t know who or how many are responsible.
Fire Chief Carswell says this is the third fire this year caused by homeless people. “In these cases, they get cold,” Carswell says, “you gonna find some means to try to stay warm even if it means setting the floor on fire to stay warm.”
Carswell is urging vacant property owners to check for vagrants in their buildings regularly to avoid a similar situation.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWFXL