Syracuse Sun

Syracuse, NY- On Friday, March 29, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a reported possible structure fire at 310 Palmer Ave. Firefighters from Station 3, on Bellevue Ave., arrived on the scene just over 90 seconds later to find fire showing on the front of the two-and-a-half-story, two-family home. As additional fire crews arrived on the scene, teams of firefighters worked to stretch additional hoses into the home while other teams performed searches for potentially trapped victims.

Crews moving into the building were met with heavy fire, and high heat conditions. The home, which was known to be vacant, had been the scene of a previous structure fire. As crews pushed farther inside, conditions began to deteriorate, and the fire intensified on the second floor. Flames could be seen through the roof. Incident commanders at the scene made the decision to shift to a defensive operation, and crews backed out of the building to flow water from outside.

"Strong, persistent winds fanned flames in the attic of the home as firefighters stretched hoses capable of flowing up to 500 gallons of water per minute. Elevated water streams from various apparatus were also put to work, flowing up to 1000 gallons of water per minute. Crews spent over an hour working to extinguish the fire from the exterior. The fire was declared out after approximately 3 hours."

Syracuse Fire Investigators were at the scene conducting an origin and cause investigation. That investigation is ongoing. The building, which was known to be vacant, suffered extensive fire, smoke, and water damage, as well as a partial roof collapse. Crews were expected to remain at the scene well into the night, battling the stubborn flames. There were no injuries reported to civilians or to Firefighters at the time of this release.

"A total of 39 Fire Department personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. We thank our partners at the 911 Center, SPD, AMR, National Grid, and the Red Cross."

Syracuse Fire Department Ambulance, Syracuse Police, American Medical Response, National Grid, and the American Red Cross also responded to the scene.