WESTERLO — A man welding in his garage Saturday night in Westerlo caused an explosion that sparked a fire, damaging half of the house.

The welder was injured and taken to the hospital, said Tom Diederich, the Westerlo Volunteer Fire Company chief.

A resident of an apartment on Slade Hill Road in Westerlo, he was welding in his garage when the explosion occurred, said Diederich. Although the welding is believed to be the cause, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, he said.

Sheriff’s Inspector J.T. Campbell said that the man was welding an oil tank.

The fire company was called at 6:13 p.m. on Saturday, and responded within minutes, said Diederich.

The garage was located under the house, which is split into two apartments. Firefighters saved one section of the building, but the apartment located above the garage is “substantially damaged” and not habitable, said Diederich.

Six people — two adults and four children between the ages of 6 and 9 — were helped by the Northeastern New York Chapter of the American Red Cross with emergency aid such as food and clothing, said a release from the chapter.

In addition to Westerlo, five departments responded to the fire as well: the Berne Fire Volunteer Fire Company; the East Berne Volunteer Fire Company; the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company; the Coeymans Hollow Volunteer Fire Company; and the North Bethlehem Fire Department, which provided rehabilitation to the firefighters. Multiple other departments were on standby, said Diederich.

Diederich said the fire was knocked down in about half-an-hour, but it took several more hours to extinguish the fire completely, and firefighters were at the scene for about five hours.

The property, located at 8 Slade Hill Road, has a full-market value of $100,000, according to the Albany County assessment rolls.