Police & Fire
Small Fire on Albany Hill Doesn't Take Long to Quench
Officials said it might have been started by a cigarette or ashes from a cigarette.
Firefighters extinguished a small fire on Albany Hill on Friday afternoon without too much trouble, authorities said.
The fire started shortly before 3 p.m. in the grass along a dirt access road on the north side of the hill, said Lt. Jeff Keary of the Albany Fire Department.
Someone called to report smoke near Creekside Park and firefighters found the blaze, which spread over a roughly 3-by-30-foot patch, at about 3:04 p.m.
"It was never out of control," Keary said. "It was completely under control within minutes."
Firefighters reached the scene via an access road near 535 Pierce St.
They used a brush rig, and about 50 gallons of water, to douse the flames. The department's brush rig is a relatively small truck that holds about 200 gallons of water.
Albany Fire Department engineer Eric Agee said the fire might easily have started from a cigarette butt, "or a silly little thing like flicking ashes."
Smoking is not allowed on Albany Hill.
"It's very dry up there," said Keary, a 30-year veteran of the Fire Department. "A burning cigarette butt, especially with a little breeze blowing, is very capable of starting a fire that can lead to something big."
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