NY Man Starts One of the Worst Fires in Local History by Imitating Something He Saw on TV

This is why they're always telling you, "Don't try this at home."

NYupstate is reporting that a Capitol Region man sparked a massive fire that ended up destroying or damaging 21 buildings Thursday.

One city mayor is calling it "the worst disaster he's ever seen."

What makes the story even more tragic was that it was completely preventable. The Times Union says that a 51-year-old man from Cohoes and amateur metalsmith was inspired by something he saw off of The History Channel's reality show Forged in Fire.

John A. Gomes decided that he was going to try to bend metal over a barrel fire in his backyard. Given the fact that the winds were gusting over 30 m.p.h Thursday. This was a very bad idea.

The resulting fire quickly spread through the buildings Thursday afternoon and was reportedly still burning over six hours later. NY upstate says the fire was so big it could even be seen on radar. CBS says that the massive fire was actually brought under control after three hours, but it started again an hour later.

CBS says that three city blocks in Cohoes were destroyed. That's half the downtown area of the city of just under 17,000.

The one bit of good news is that no one was killed. There were some reported minor injuries and one are firefighter had to be taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. Over twenty people have been displaced.

Gomes is charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor arson. He has pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing will be this Tuesday.