Explosion, House Collapse on Carbon Street. 11 injured, Some Severely

• by Urban CNY News
• June 19, 2024

Update: As of June 19th the incident has moved to an investigatory phase. Syracuse Fire Department Investigators are at the scene working to determine the cause of the explosion that injured 11 people yesterday. Syracuse, NY- On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at 4:06 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by Onondaga County 911 Center to a reported explosion and structure fire near the intersection of Carbon Street and Oberst Street, on the City’s North Side. Firefighters from Station 2, on Lodi Street, arrived on the scene at 205 Carbon Street in under three minutes and reported what appeared to be a building collapse, with multiple injured people in the front yard of the home. As additional units arrived, it became clear that a two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame home had collapsed, likely due to an explosion. Firefighters immediately began triage and treatment of the injured in the front of the home. Incident commanders recognized that the scene was becoming a mass casualty incident. As additional resources arrived, firefighters continued to move injured occupants away from the structure to a safe area for treatment. Teams of firefighters worked to free a child trapped in a car under the rubble. Crews were successful in getting the child to a waiting ambulance crew for treatment. In total, 10 victims were transported from the scene following the initial arrival of fire units. American Medical Response (AMR) transported many of the victims, with the Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance also transporting. Conflicting reports indicated that there were possibly still occupants trapped in the rubble.  Crews stretched hoses to extinguish spot fires, and other teams checked nearby homes for any injured occupants. Firefighters from the Rescue Company, a specialized group of firefighters trained in collapse and confined space rescue, began the process of entering the building to check for any trapped victims. With the help of several crews at the scene, firefighters worked to shore up the collapsed structure to mitigate any further collapse potential. National Grid representatives at the scene utilized a backhoe to ensure gas to the structure was shut off at the street, making the area safer for firefighters to enter. When the building was safely shored, a team of Rescue firefighters entered the remains of the building and spent nearly 45 minutes meticulously searching the ruins. All searches were negative. In the meantime, Syracuse Police had been working diligently to confirm that all the reported occupants of the building had been accounted for. Members of two families, 13 people total, had been at the site prior to the explosion. Of those, 10 were transported by ambulance to Upstate University Hospital. One additional patient was transported to Upstate later in the incident. A total of 11 people were treated at local hospitals. At the time of this writing, their conditions and the extent of their injuries are not currently known. There were no injuries reported to firefighters at the scene. Incident Commanders later requested the assistance of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control (NYSOFPC) to confirm that there were no further trapped victims. A team of live victim search dogs was dispatched from TASK FORCE 2, based in Albany. A short time after their arrival at the scene, the dogs confirmed the structure was clear of any additional victims. A New York State Police Cadaver Dog was also brought to the scene and again confirmed no further victims in the structure. After all victims were confirmed located and transported for treatment, Fire crews began clearing the scene. At the time of this release, the scene had been turned over to Syracuse Police. Syracuse Police, along with Syracuse Fire Department Investigators, were beginning an investigation to determine the possible cause of the incident. Multiple city Departments were at the scene, working with emergency responders to formulate a plan for the structure moving forward. INCIDENT UPDATE: As of June 19th the incident has moved to an investigatory phase. Syracuse Fire Department Investigators are at the scene working to determine the cause of the explosion that injured 11 people yesterday. Fire Department Investigators are working in coordination with Syracuse Police, National Grid, and the New York State Pipeline Safety Program to determine the cause of the explosion. Patient information is now available regarding the victims injured in yesterday’s incident. At present time, three victims are listed in critical stable condition, nine are listed in stable condition, and one patient was not admitted for further treatment following initial triage and treatment. The names, ages, and condition of the victims of Incident Residents of 205 Carbon Street Children: Visiting Family Children: High temperatures and humidity compounded the difficulty of the entire rescue operation. Crews of firefighters from across the city were rotated through the scene to provide relief. CENTRO sent a bus to the scene to act as a cooling station for exhausted firefighters as they rehydrated. Additional crews of off-duty firefighters were called to the scene to assist with the rescue efforts. Additional fire units were also placed in service in the city to ensure the rest of the city retained adequate emergency response capabilities. More than 60 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, New York State OFPC, New York State Department of Homeland Security, New York State Office of Emergency Management, New York State Police, and CENTRO also responded to the scene, as well as multiple City of Syracuse Departments including Code Enforcement and DPW. With an incident as large and complex as this one, all of these organizations played a key role in the successful completion of the incident. Crews from multiple agencies and multiple levels of government worked together seamlessly.