SYRACUSE, NY -- A fire that gutted a Syracuse home Friday morning was started by a resident who was smoking while using oxygen, firefighters said.
A mother and her adult son were injured after a fire started at 700 N. Alvord St., a two-story home at the corner of Pond Street on the city’s North Side, firefighters said. The fire severely damaged the two apartments on the first floor of the home, firefighters said, and left five people homeless.
The fire was caused by a resident who was smoking while using oxygen in a first-floor living room, said Capt. David Ellis, spokesman for the Syracuse Fire Department. Fire investigators deemed the fire accidental, he said.
The fire was reported at 7:49 a.m. The residents who were home when the fire started were outside when firefighters arrived, Ellis said.
Two people -- a mother and son -- were transported by American Medical Response to Upstate University Hospital. Both suffered from smoke inhalation, Ellis said, and one had minor burns.
The thick gray smoke billowing from the North Side fire was visible from downtown Syracuse.
While fighting the blaze, firefighters had to watch out for power lines that fell off the burning home and onto the street, Ellis said. Crews also had to contend with a fire that was made worse by venting oxygen tanks -- including one tank that ruptured, he said.
The American Red Cross is helping the residents displaced by the fire.
The home had working smoke detectors, Ellis said.
The residence was built in 1920, according to Onondaga County property records, and had three apartments. The upstairs apartment was vacant.
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