Three families were displaced Thursday morning after a fire damaged a multi-family residence on Onondaga Avenue in Syracuse.
According to the Syracuse Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched at 8:14 a.m. to 201 Onondaga Avenue following reports of a structure fire. Crews from Station 3 arrived to find smoke coming from the front entrance of the three-story residential building.
Firefighters entered the structure and encountered heavy smoke conditions on the upper floors. The fire was quickly located in a second-floor apartment, prompting the transmission of a Signal 99, indicating a working fire.
Crews stretched hose lines to the second floor and began extinguishing the fire while additional firefighters searched the building for occupants. Officials said the fire was brought under control in less than 10 minutes and fully extinguished within about 30 minutes. Searches confirmed that no victims were trapped inside.
The building contains three apartments. Fire damage was limited to the second-floor unit where the blaze originated, although minor water damage extended throughout the remainder of the structure. Utilities to the first- and second-floor apartments were disconnected due to the water damage.
An investigation determined the fire started in the kitchen of the second-floor apartment. Syracuse Fire Investigators ruled the blaze accidental, attributing it to an undetermined appliance malfunction.
No firefighters were injured during the incident. One occupant was evaluated at the scene by AMR personnel but declined transportation to a hospital.
The American Red Cross responded to assist the three families displaced by the fire. Firefighters remained on scene for more than an hour, conducting overhaul operations and assisting with the investigation.
