Syracuse, NY- On Sunday, November 12, 2023, at 10:32 a.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a report of a structure fire at 213 McLennan Avenue, on the City’s South Side. Firefighters responding to the scene reported seeing smoke from as far away as South Salina Street. Crews from Station 8, on South Salina Street, arrived on the scene just over two minutes later to find smoke coming from the attic of the two-and-a-half-story house. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted.
As firefighters continued to arrive on the scene and prepared to enter the house, fire began to show from the attic. Crews moved hoses into the home and began to systematically search for any trapped victims. As teams moved hoses to the attic, they were met with extreme heat conditions as the fire intensified. Searches for trapped occupants were negative. Conditions in the attic rapidly deteriorated, and firefighters transitioned to an exterior, defensive operation, spraying water onto the fire from outside the home from several large hoses and elevated streams. Two firefighters were injured during the initial attack. They were part of a hose team in the attic of the home and received burns while attempting to fight the fire there. Both were transported from the scene to a local hospital for treatment and were released later in the day.
Syracuse Fire Investigators have determined the fire started on an exterior roof of the home, due to work being done by a contractor. The building suffered severe damage to the attic area, part of the roof collapsed, as well as severe smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the building. The fire took approximately two hours to bring under control and crews remained on the scene for several hours more, working in shifts to keep a watch for any new signs of smoldering or fire. The fire displaced three occupants. They were being assisted by the Red Cross. There were no injuries reported to civilians.
A total of 46 fire personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, American Medical Response, National Grid, and the American Red Cross also responded to the scene. We thank our partners at the 911 Center, SPD, AMR, National Grid, and the Red Cross.