Schenectady, NY (WRGB) — A dropped smoking material and an active oxygen tank combined to spark a fast-moving fire that tore through a Schenectady home and sent an oxygen cylinder blasting through an exterior wall, investigators said.
On June 2, 2026, the Schenectady Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Unit concluded its investigation into the May 31, 2026, fire at 2051 Lancaster St.
Investigators determined the fire started in the first-floor front living room and ruled the cause accidental. Smoking material was dropped into a pile of paper at the foot of a chair, and an active oxygen tank with its tubing in the same area rapidly started the fire…