Syracuse, NY- On Sunday, October 29, 2023, at 4:09 a.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 to a reported possible fire in the area of the 400 Block of Carbon Street, on the City’s North Side. Firefighters from Station 2, on Lodi Street, arrived in the area moments later. Crews found smoke in the area and quickly determined that it was coming from a nearby house on Strand Place. As crews arrived at the single-story house at 102 Strand Place, they saw thick smoke and heavy fire blowing out of the building near the back. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted, indicating a working fire.
There were initial reports that there were potentially trapped occupants, or that people had escaped via windows prior to fire department arrival. Teams of firefighters stretched hoses into the building and began to battle the fire as other teams performed methodical searches for trapped victims. Searches were negative, no victims were found. Hose crews were having a hard time locating the fire, and conditions inside were rapidly deteriorating. Heavy fire was discovered in the basement of the building, and access was not possible, so the decision was made to switch to an exterior operation, fighting the fire from the outside.
Crews worked tirelessly to safely fight the fire from the outside, using multiple hoses from multiple sides of the building. At one point, a large portion of the first floor collapsed into the basement. The fire was eventually declared under control after approximately 75 minutes, however firefighters remained on the scene extinguishing hot spots for more than 3 hours. Syracuse Fire Investigators were on the scene working to determine the origin and cause of the fire. The home suffered extensive and severe fire damage throughout the first floor and basement.
One Syracuse Firefighter was treated at the scene for minor burns sustained during the initial fire attack. He was transported to a local hospital for further treatment and was released later this morning. There were no injuries reported to civilians.
A total of 43 Fire Department personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, American Medical Response, and National Grid also responded to the scene. We thank our partners at the 911 Center, SPD, AMR, and National Grid.