• A fire broke out on Albany Street Tuesday evening in Schenectady. (Wendy Liberatore/Times Union) Photo: Wendy Liberatore/Times Union
Photo: Wendy Liberatore/Times Union
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A fire broke out on Albany Street Tuesday evening in Schenectady. (Wendy Liberatore/Times Union)

A fire broke out on Albany Street Tuesday evening in Schenectady. (Wendy Liberatore/Times Union)

Photo: Wendy Liberatore/Times Union

SCHENECTADY — Olga Rivera said her brother called her at just the right time Tuesday night. If her phone hadn't rung, she would have been in the shower and would not have seen the fire that shot out of the wall of her Albany Street apartment.

"I began to scream and then I called 911 and we got out," Rivera said. "If I were in the shower, it would be a different story."

The fire in the apartment above the Mini Mart broke out at 7 p.m., just after Rivera came home from work. City firefighters responded and knocked down the fire quickly.

Rivera and her four sons, ages 12, 8, 7 and 3, got out safely. They were the only occupants of the building. The family is staying with a neighbor, Christopher De La Cruz.

"When she got home, the kids told her they smelled something," De La Cruz said as he and Rivera watched as the fire department wrapped up their work. "They were lucky because there were no smoke detectors in the house."

Rivera moved into the $800-a-month apartment in November. She painted and was doing other small improvements to make it feel like home.

The extent of the damage was not immediately known. Rivera was hoping to go inside on Tuesday night to see for herself.