Video courtesy Lee Consolo
424 Cayuga Street Monday morning
/ photo: Craig McDowell
SYRACUSE -- An elderly Syracuse resident was hospitalized after his house caught fire early Monday morning.
The first call came in just before 1:00 a.m. Monday reporting a fire at 424 Cayuga Street, on the city’s west side near Tipperary Hill.
Officials say the back of the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene. The heat and flames were very intense.
Neighbors told the firefighters about the elderly man who lived in the house. No one reported hearing any smoke detectors.
Fire officials say that within a minute and a half of arriving, firefighters had pulled the resident out of the house and began to provide medical assistance.
After a few minutes, officials say that all firefighters were pulled out of the house due to safety concerns. Just a few minutes later, the fire knocked down part of the house.
The man is in ‘extremely critical’ condition at a local hospital. He had burns to his airway from breathing in hot smoke, superheated air, and gases, officials say.
Officials say the fire is still under investigation. Neither the cause of the fire nor the man’s identity have been released.
