NEW SCOTLAND — Firefighters helped rescue animals from a burning barn last Wednesday with the temperature well below freezing.

Nazzerine Donato suffered severe burns to his upper body and face, according to a release from the Albany County Sheriff’s Department.

Leaving a family without a home on Christmas, a fire on Villeneuve Drive was caused by an electrical problem in the walls of the kitchen, state investigators say. A fund drive is underway.

The couple whose house burned Saturday is planning to rebuild on the site.

When fire takes a home or a business, it can take a long time to rebuild.

The neighborhood surrounding a state DOT garage in Voorheesville was jarred by an early-morning explosion caused by trucks that were on fire.

There were no injuries in a house fire Thursday afternoon that destroyed the kitchen at 1154 Meadowdale Road in Guilderland Center.

United States Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congressman Paul Tonko announced on Aug. 30 that a combined $311,746 has been awarded to the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs through the Department of Homeland Security.

The award will support two NYSAFC projects:

Homeowner Judi Eells said early Saturday afternoon that she had no idea where she was going to sleep that night, as she watched firefighters cut away much of the roof of her home at 52 Van Wie Terrace in Westmere, to let smoke billow out.

Eight companies helped douse a garage fire at 29 Armstrong Circle Saturday afternoon, saving the attached house.