syracuse.com
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Syracuse, N.Y. — Three young children were in “critically stable” condition at the hospital after a home collapsed Tuesday afternoon on Syracuse’s North Side, officials said.
Eleven people were hospitalized after the collapse at 205 Carbon St., officials said. All were in stable condition, except for the three youngest victims: a 9-month-old, 2-year-old and 3-year-old, District Chief Matthew Craner, a spokesperson for the Syracuse Fire Department, said at a Wednesday morning news conference.
Thirteen people from two families had been at the home before the collapse, officials said. All were accounted for.
Craner said National Grid is on scene and bringing in heavy equipment to perform testing at the home. That must be completed before city investigators can get back into the home to continue their work, he said.
“We’re doing to do everything we can to determine what caused this to happen,” Craner said.
Craner said investigators currently believe a car found under the rubble did not cause the home to collapse, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Firefighters had rescued a child from the car.
National Grid is working to determine whether gas played any part in the collapse, officials said.
Multiple people called 911 shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday to report what sounded like an explosion. Two neighbors told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that their homes shook.
Firefighters found downed power lines and a heavy odor of natural gas when they arrived, officials previously said. Multiple people were already on the front yard outside the home, they said.
Firefighters worked to shore up the remaining structure before specially trained crews went inside to search for any remaining people who were trapped. They spent 45 minutes searching and found no one.
The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control in Albany sent a team of search dogs to comb through the rubble, firefighters said. A cadaver dog was brought in by the State Police.
Mayor Ben Walsh said he was “relieved” to hear that most of the victims were in stable condition, but cautioned that, “we’re not out of the woods yet.” He said he was praying for the three children in “critically stable” condition.
Walsh added that he was grateful for the efforts of first responders, as well as neighbors who pitched in to help people at the scene of the collapse.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home was constructed in 1920, according to county records. It is owned by Minh C. Tran, of Liverpool, records show.
There were no active code violations for the home as of Tuesday afternoon, according to city records.
Walsh said the city plans to demolish what remains of the home once all investigations are completed.
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