Firefighters Face Frigid Temperatures During North Side Blaze
Syracuse, NY-On Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 4:33 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a report of a structure fire at 156 Mary Street. Firefighters from Station 2, on Lodi Street, arrived just over two minutes later, and found a one-and-a-half story home with fire and smoke showing from the rear of the house. As additional firefighters were arriving, crews received reports of the possibility of multiple people still trapped inside the burning home. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted, and crews began an aggressive fire attack. Teams of Firefighters stretched hoses from the first due engine and moved them into the house. While this was occurring, other teams of firefighters were performing a systematic search of the structure looking for the reportedly trapped occupants. As crews worked inside in zero visibility, they encountered intense heat and flames on the first floor. Hose lines were in place and crews extinguished the flames. The teams searching did not find any victims; it was confirmed that all the occupants of the home had escaped. Search teams did find that the fire had spread to the second floor, and hose lines were quickly repositioned to stop them from spreading further. Crews were able to bring the fire under control in approximately 20 minutes, however firefighters spent over an hour chasing stubborn hotspots. An additional Engine crew was brought into the scene to assist. The fire was declared out after approximately 70 minutes. The fire resulted in extensive fire, smoke, and water damage to the first and second floor in the rear of the structure. Frigid temperatures and blowing snow necessitated rotating additional crews of firefighters into the scene to assist with picking up equipment once the fire was out. A Centro bus was also brought into the scene to function as a warming station for frozen crews. Syracuse Fire Investigators were at the scene conducting a cause and origin investigation, which is still ongoing. One person suffered minor burns while fleeing the blaze. They were treated by medical crews at the scene and released. There were no injuries reported to Fire Department personnel. At least five people were displaced by this fire. They were being assisted by the Red Cross. A total of 52 Fire Department personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, American Medical Response, National Grid, The American Red Cross, and Centro also responded to the scene.
