Syracuse, N.Y. – At approximately 2:44 a.m., the Syracuse Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at 346-48 Gertrude St. Within 3 minutes, Truck Company 4 and Engine Company 9 from Fire Station 9 (400 Shuart Ave.) were on scene of the large 2 ½ -story wood framed, three-family dwelling reporting large volumes of fire on the 1st and 2nd floors of the structure. Other companies arrived on scene and firefighters initiated operations to extinguish the fire and search for potential victims. There were three apartments in the building; two were occupied, with ten occupants in the building at the time of the fire.
Based on deteriorating conditions, the Incident Commander ordered companies out of the building and to set up master stream appliances in order to flow large volumes of water onto the fire from outside the structure. As crews were given the order to evacuate, an exterior porch collapsed. During this period of outside operations, Truck Company 5 from Fire Station 10 (2030 E. Genesee St.) noticed a dog in a 2nd floor window. They were able to ladder the window and rescue the dog from the building. The dog was turned over to an AMR ambulance crew on scene for treatment.
The occupants reported being alerted to the fire by working smoke detectors. Chief of Fire Michael Monds credits the smoke detectors for saving their lives. The origin and cause of this fire is still under investigation. There were no injuries reported in this incident.