Firefighters Called to Structure Fire on Vann Street

Press Release:

Firefighters Battle Fire on Vann Street

Syracuse, NY- On Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 4:42 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were alerted by the Onondaga County 911 Center to a reported structure fire at 221 Vann Street. Firefighters from Station 9 on Shuart Ave arrived at the scene three minutes later and found a one-and-a-half-story wood frame residence with smoke from the roof and fire visible from multiple windows. Initial Units transmitted a signal '99', indicating a working fire.

As teams of firefighters moved hoses into the building, searching for the fire, other teams of firefighters prepared to search the entire building. All occupants were confirmed to not be home at the time of the fire. The wind fed the fire, there was zero visibility inside, the heat increased, and the smoke indicated we needed to evacuate the structure. The Incident Commander called for the evacuation of the building. Hose lines were removed from the structure and repositioned on the outside to flow water into the building to extinguish the fire. Having extinguished the visible fire, but the smoke indicating there was still fire burning inside crews again entered the building. The configuration of the structure and damage caused by the fire that was still burning inside created a need to once again pull the firefighters out of the building and adjust tactics to extinguish the fire in an area of the structure we could not access. Hose lines on the outside were again used, as well as the elevated master stream from Engine 9. After the bulk of the fire could be accessed and extinguished, a limited number of personnel reentered the building and extinguished the remaining hot spots. The fire was declared out after approximately two hours and fifty minutes. Crews remained at the scene for an additional hour clearing smoke from the building, cleaning up, and assisting investigators.

The building is a single-family home. That structure suffered extensive fire, smoke, and water damage. This fire displaced two occupants; the Red Cross is assisting them. The investigation into the cause and origin of the fire is ongoing. There were no injuries to civilians or to Fire Department personnel.

A total of 47 Fire Department Personnel responded to this incident, including command and support staff. 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.

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