Fire at vacant Troy building under investigation

A vacant building on the corner of 5th Avenue and Ferry Street in Troy caught fire on Tuesday evening.

Troy’s Assistant Fire Chief Rich Cellucci said they got a call around 7 p.m. When they arrived, he said they saw heavy smoke coming from the back of the building, and found the fire on the second floor.

That call came from William Schenmeyer, a resident who lives nearby.

“I happened to look up, and I saw an orange glow coming from the second floor, he said. “The next thing you know, I saw a bunch of smoke, so I immediately called 911, and I started yelling ‘FIRE’ to make sure everyone in those two buildings were able to get out safe.”

Hours after the call, crews were still checking for hotspots. There were investigators and Troy city code on the scene. William said he alerted them of suspicious video he noticed on his Ring doorbell cam.

“About 3:30 this [Tuesday] afternoon, the Ring camera was able to show a subject coming out of the back of the building with what looked like a Home Depot bucket or Lowe’s bucket with a bunch of copper pipes,” Schenmeyer said.

The Assistant Fire Chief said the fire is still under investigation, but he can confirm there were no injuries.