GUILDERLAND — In 22-degree weather the day after Christmas, firefighters battled a house fire at 490 Church Rd. that took the life of one person.

Westmere Fire Department Chief Henry Smith said that a 9-1-1 call came in at about 1:41 p.m. reporting a house fire with someone possibly trapped inside “in the cellar area.”

When firefighters arrived, Smith said, they were able to locate the man within about five minutes, but that he believed the man was already dead when found by firefighters.

Smith did not know the name or age of the man who had died.

“We hate to come to fires like this, but that’s what we’re trained to do,” Smith said.

He said he had no information about how the fire had started.

According to Albany County tax rolls, the home is owned by Arthur and Anne Siebert. Ann Siebert of Guilderland, who had been married to Arthur Siebert for 63 years, died in September, according to her obituary.

When firefighters arrived, heavy flames engulfed the first floor of the frame house, extending into the cellar area and the upper portion of the building, and heavy smoke was pouring from the front of the building, said Smith.

As he spoke, firefighters at the front of the house pulled away the pale green siding and took axes and a chainsaw to the wooden frame beneath, to create openings for their hoses.

From the start, firefighters did an exterior attack, said Smith. “It’s a very stubborn fire, he said as firefighters worked, adding, “It’s inside all the walls.”

He didn’t want firefighters to go up on the roof, because the structure was very unstable, he said.

“Obviously we can’t save the house,” he said, when the fire is that involved, “but we can make sure our members are safe.”

As of about 2:20 p.m., the fire was not yet out; firefighters were still trying to reach hot spots with their hoses.

A number of fire companies responded, he said, with others staffing the areas that those fire departments would otherwise cover. Among the fire departments involved were Guilderland, Fuller Road, Midway, Slingerlands, McKownville, and North Bethlehem. Other first responders on the scene included the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, the Guilderland Police Department, and EMS, he said.

According to the tax rolls, the home had a full market value of $140,824.