Fire engulfs BBL Carlton warehouse

Friday, January 20, 2023 - 15:59

The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer

A large warehouse for BBL Carlton caught fire on Friday afternoon and its roof collapsed.

An acrid odor filled the air as a Colonie police officer stopped traffic about a mile from the site on Kings Road. At 4:15 p.m., he said he'd been on duty for two hours.

At about 3:30 p.m., smoke dramatically billowed out of the facility, located at 1204 Kings Road in Colonie.  The Pine Bush Preserve has trail entrances along the road, which is interspersed with houses.

Tom Breslin of the Colonie Police, at the scene, told The Enterprise that the damage is extensive and the cause is unknown at this point. He estimated 10 to 15 fire departments were on the scene — from nearby Guilderland and as far away as New Salem and Coeymans Hollow. They had trouble accessing water to fight the fire, using many tanker trucks from different departments to supply water at the scene.

BBL Carlton is a construction company with offices in South Carolina, Virginia, and New York.

More Guilderland News

  • Albany Therapeutic Riding Center seeks funds after barn burns

    “All our animals are safe,” the center’s director, Taylor Huntley, posted to social media in the midst of the fire. “I was here running lessons when my Barn Manager noticed the fire in our hay storage barn.”

  • Girls’ coach recruits wrestlers to be on a team of their own

    One of the reasons Foster thinks Guilderland girls, even those brand new to the sport, will have a shot at success is because, starting this year statewide, girls will wrestle in the Olympic style.

  • To the rescue: Guilderland opens third EMS station

    The demand for emergency response is growing, with a record 6,717 calls answered last year. “We’ve got an aging population,” Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber said at the ceremony, “and the key was how do we do it right,” he said of establishing a town-run service.

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.