Syracuse, NY- On June 8, 2023, at 6:25 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 to a reported fire at 144 Didama Street on Syracuse’s East Side. Firefighters from Station 10, on East Genesee Street, arrived two and a half minutes later to find a one-and-a-half story wood frame home with flames shooting out the front windows and heavy smoke pushing from the rest of the building. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted and companies went to work to extinguish the fire.
As crews began to pull hoses off the engine to take into the building to fight the fire, an electrical service wire going to the house burned away and landed on the engine, arcing and sparking, and complicating operations for firefighters. Unable to utilize the first due engine because of the electrical hazard, crews immediately began stretching hoses off of the next arriving engine. By this time, the fire had reached such an advanced stage that the decision was made to make the initial attack in a defensive operation, and work to protect nearby homes.
Firefighters sprayed water from the outside, until the fire was subdued enough for them to make entry. Once inside the structure, firefighters were met with heavily cluttered conditions that made it extremely difficult to move hoses into position and conduct searches. Additional companies were called to the scene to assist with the exhausting task. Crews were able to fight through the clutter to extinguish hotspots in the living spaces and in the attic, as well as confirm there were no victims trapped inside. The fire was brought under control and declared out after approximately 60 minutes, however crews still had to deal with extensive overhaul of the fire areas.
The home was determined to be vacant at the time of the fire and suffered extensive fire, smoke, and water damage. Syracuse Fire Investigators were on the scene working to determine the origin and cause of the fire. There were no injuries reported to civilians or to fire personnel.
A total of 54 fire personnel responded to this scene, including command and support staff. Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, American Medical Response, and National Grid responded to the scene as well. We thank our partners at the 911 Center, SPD, AMR, and National Grid.