Syracuse, NY- On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at 6:41 a.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a report of a possible fire at 111 Smith Lane. Firefighters from Station 8, on South Salina Street, were the first to arrive on the scene less than three minutes later. Crews found a three-story brick apartment building with no indication of anything wrong as they pulled up. As firefighters began to investigate the scene, they opened the front door and found an intensely burning fire in a first-floor hallway. At the same time, a District Chief on the scene, performing a 360-degree check of the structure, found heavy black smoke coming from rear windows, and an occupant trapped, hanging from a second-floor window. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted as crews worked to rescue the trapped occupant.
As additional crews arrived on the scene, hoses were stretched into the structure to fight the flames. Almost immediately, a crew of firefighters from the first arriving truck company, Truck 8, were hoisting a ladder to the second-floor windows and the trapped occupant was successfully rescued. Teams of firefighters searching inside the structure found a second trapped occupant and were able to escort them safely out of the building as well. Both occupants were evaluated at the scene by medical personnel for possible injuries, however neither was transported to a hospital. Additional crews of firefighters were called to the scene, due to the thought that there may be more people trapped, however no additional victims were located, and the extra engine was able to return to service.
Firefighters were able to bring the intense flames under control quickly, but not before the first and second floor of the three-story building suffered heavy fire, smoke, and heat damage. The rest of the building also sustained smoke damage. The fire was declared out after approximately 40 minutes. Crews spent more than an hour using powerful fans to remove lingering and trapped smoke from the building. At least one occupant was displaced by this fire; they were being assisted by the Red Cross. Syracuse Fire investigators were on the scene conducting a cause and origin investigation.
A total of 42 Fire Department 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 SPD, AMR, National Grid, and the Red Cross.