Syracuse, NY- On Friday, December 15, 2023, at 7:05 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a reported fire in the 1000 block of West Onondaga Street. Firefighters from Station 3, on Bellevue Avenue arrived on the scene at 1052 West Onondaga Street less than two minutes later. When they arrived, firefighters reported flames shooting from windows on the second floor, on the side of the two-and-a-half-story building. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted indicating a working fire.
Teams of firefighters stretched hoses from the first arriving engine, while other teams of firefighters forced open a door on the first floor to allow the hose teams to make entry. The fire was ‘venting’ out of a window on the second floor of the building, but as crews made entry with their hoses, they quickly realized that the fire was burning on the first floor as well. As the hose teams worked to extinguish the flames, other teams of firefighters methodically searched the entire building for any trapped victims. Searches were negative; no one was home when the fire occurred.
Crews were able to bring the fire under control quickly, and the fire was declared out after approximately 40 minutes. Although no one was home at the time the fire occurred, the building did have working smoke detectors installed. Parts of the first and second floors of the home sustained moderate to heavy fire damage. The house also sustained smoke and water damage throughout. Syracuse Fire Investigators were on the scene working to determine the cause and origin of the fire. One firefighter suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze, however they were able to continue working at the scene. There were no injuries reported to civilians.
A total of 38 Fire Department personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, 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.