Fire Destroys One House, Damages Another in 2-Alarm Fitch Street Blaze

Published on August 14, 2024

Syracuse, NY- On Wednesday, August 14, at 6:08 a.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 center to a reported fire at the corner of Dudley St. and Fitch Street. Firefighters from Station 3, on Bellevue Ave., arrived on the scene moments later and found a two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame building at 151 Fitch Street, that was fully involved with fire. Flames from the home were spreading to neighboring 153 Fitch Street, another two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame home. A signal ‘99’ was transmitted. Due to the large volume of fire, and the fact that two buildings were involved, a second-alarm assignment, bringing additional resources to the scene, was requested as well.

The initial arriving crews at the scene stretched hoses toward the building and began flowing water from the outside into 151 Fitch. As additional units arrived at the scene, crews were split between the two buildings in what essentially became two different structure fires. Incident commanders recognized early on that 151 Fitch St. was known to be vacant, and so ordered an outside operation, with firefighters using “master stream” appliances capable of flowing over 500 gallons of water per minute. At 153 Fitch, crews moved hoses inside to stop the flames that were spreading into the second floor and attic. 153 Fitch was known to be occupied, and crews of firefighters performed searches of the building, checking for any trapped occupants. Searches of both buildings proved negative; no victims were found. The additional firefighters sent to the scene on the second alarm provided the manpower necessary to bring both fires under control. The fire at 153 Fitch was declared out after approximately 50 minutes. The fire at 151 Fitch was declared out after approximately 110 minutes.

The building at 151 Fitch was known to be vacant and suffered extensive smoke, fire, and water damage throughout. A portion of the first floor of the building collapsed during the firefight. 153 Fitch suffered fire, smoke, and water damage to the second floor and attic. One of the two apartments in that building was occupied, however the occupants were not at home when the fire occurred. Syracuse Fire Investigators were at the scene working to determine the origin and cause of the fire at 151 Fitch St. That investigation is ongoing. There were no injuries reported to civilians or to Fire Department personnel.

This was the third major fire for Syracuse Firefighters in a 24-hour period, and the fifth in as many days. A total of 58 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 the 911 Center, SPD, AMR, National Grid and the Red Cross.