TOWN OF DEWITT – Nine fire departments assisted in the response to a raging fire that began late Sunday evening in the town of DeWitt.
At around 10:45 p.m. neighbors began calling in the fire in progress on North Midler Avenue. Soon thereafter firefighters from East Syracuse, DeWitt, Manlius, Fayetteville, Minoa, Liverpool, Solvay, Mattydale, and North Syracuse responded along with East Area Volunteer Emergency Services (EAVES) Ambulance and Onondaga County Emergency Management.
The surrounding residents were evacuated as the fire spread from a vacant house to its next-door property inside the Midler Meadows Mobile Home Park near NAPA Auto Parts.
According to East Syracuse Fire Chief Lenny DiBello, one house was completely destroyed beyond repair, while the other is “gutted” as far as its interior, though he said the latter of the two is still standing and showing signs that it could be rebuilt and returned close enough to its original condition.
Despite the damage, DiBello said that the emergency response the other night was handled properly into the early morning hours.
“Everybody did a great job, and everything came together well,” he said. “It was a coordinated effort in every way, shape and form.”
There were no serious injuries reported as a result of the double house fire, but one fireman from the Liverpool Fire Department ended up going to the hospital as a precautionary measure because he felt “a little off,” DiBello said. The East Syracuse fire chief followed up with that firefighter on Monday and reported that he is “doing fine.”
At press time, it is still being determined through an investigation what had been the exact cause of the fire, which mainly affected the residences at 419 and 421 N. Midler Ave.
