Boom in the night
COLONIE – Members of the West Albany Fire Department didn’t have to wait for a fire whistle or pager to know something was wrong in the neighborhood on Thursday, March 4. “The sound of the explosion was so loud it woke up two of our responders,” West Albany Fire Chief Daniel Sullivan said. “And they live over a mile away.”
At approximately 3:13 a.m. local firefighters were dispatched to 113 Everett Road for multiple reports of an explosion. When firefighters arrived, the building was on fire, with chunks of structure spread over the neighborhood. “It looks like the explosion blew the roof straight up and it came back down on top of the structure,” Sullivan said. “The block walls on the side and back were laid out like it was a patio.”
The building skeleton was made of cement block and Sullivan said that was what probably protected the buildings around it. The explosion’s energy pushed up before the side walls collapsed. “Other than a few chunks of debris on the roof next door and across the street, it is amazing that there wasn’t more damage to surrounding structures,” he said.
Although the apartments were less than 50 feet away, there were no injuries and windows of the building were still intact. According to Colonie police, responders evacuated the apartments at 115 Everett, located next door. That building also houses businesses in the front.
The building where the explosion occurred housed the Pad Thai Noodle Restaurant and the owners said that they closed as normal on Wednesday night with no sign of trouble.
“We came this morning to see this,” Sarinya Singthon said. The restaurant and building was owned by her family and her mother, father and two brothers work there with her. They opened the business in 2016 and purchased the building in 2021.
Earlier in the day Wednesday, Sarinya said they smelled the odor of gas coming from a new Pitman fryer that they had a local company install earlier in the day. They called the company that installed it and they immediately came out and checked. They came twice during the day. She said after that, the smell was no longer detected.
“They came and checked it and it was OK,” Sarinya said. State and Colonie Fire investigators were on the scene and were investigating the cause. The frequency of gas explosions has been more visible recently across the country, Sullivan said. “I am not exactly sure what is going on with that, but we have seen some major explosions recently on the news,” he said. Natural gas is lighter than air, so it rises and can collect under a roof, while propane gas is heavier than air and moves along the ground, Sullivan said. National Grid was on the scene and earlier shut the gas and electric service off to the property so crews could work. “The Town sent over an excavator so we can take this down and hit the hot spots,” Sullivan said. Whats left of the building will have to come down, he said.
The Town Highway department crew and equipment arrived just after 5 a.m. and was working all day. It was still smoking at 9 a.m., as investigators were searching through the wreckage for an origin. At approximately 2 p.m., a chunk of the building struck a member of the Colonie Fire Services Department, injuring him, according to Colonie Town Supervisor Peter Crummey. The Town Employee was transported to Albany Memorial Hospital and later released. “He was released with what I am told was a slight concussion,” Crummey said.
At 3:30 p.m., Town Officials held a press conference at the site to update the public. The restaurant was well known in the community and the Singthon family is planning to rebuild and re-open. “I love the community here,” Sarinya said. “We don’t know how long it will take. We are just waiting now.”
Sarinya said that they want to expand the sushi part of the business when they rebuild. The other tennant in the building, another restaurant, closed last summer and it would be an opportunity to expand the menu and the business. She said they would use both spaces for them and not rent it out.
“My brother learned to be a sushi chef when he was 18 and he is now 30,” Sarinya said. “We gave some samples to our customers and they said ‘wow, this is good.’ We want to do both Thai and sushi with a new menu.” The Singthon family is from Thailand and still sends money to support relatives there.
“We support our grandparents back in Thailand and it is hard now because we do not have any income,” Sarinya said. “This is our work.” Sarinya’s parents came to the US about 35 years ago and she has lived here since 2011.
“We are encouraging the business to rebuild in the Town of Colonie,” Crummey said. “The Town will do anything we can to help them reestablish the business.” Crummey said that family businesses are part of the fabric of the community and this was a tragedy.
Sullivan said that West Albany crews left the scene after 11 p.m. on Thursday night and the building’s insurance company fenced in the site. He said it would be sending its own investigators to gather evidence.
“There are many pieces being gathered here and many people are looking at it,” he said. “It will take some time.”
In addition to West Albany, crews from Fuller Road, Shaker Ridge-Loudonville, Midway, Village of Colonie, and Menands Fire Departments responded to the blaze along with Colonie EMS, Town of Colonie Fire Services and State Fire.
Colonie police Lt. Robert Donnelly, said in a statement that due to large fire hoses across Everett Road was closed to through traffic until Thursday night due to the threat of building re-igniting. The road was closed between 123 Everett and Kross Keys Drive.
The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.
