Home Collapses in Syracuse, Injuring 11, Officials Say

A house collapsed in Syracuse, N.Y., on Tuesday afternoon, injuring 11 people, including children.

Firefighters responded to reports of an explosion and a building collapse just after 4 p.m., Michael Monds, the Syracuse fire chief, said at a news conference.

When they arrived at the home, a wooden building on Carbon Street, six victims were outside, some with burns and injuries, Chief Monds said. Others were trapped inside. Thirteen people had been in the house when it collapsed, he said.

Eleven were injured, including a child who was extricated from an occupied car buried under the rubble, Matt Craner, the Syracuse district fire chief, said.

Ten of the victims were taken to the hospital and one was treated at the scene, the Fire Department said. The three youngest victims — a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old — were in critically stable condition, the Fire Department said on Wednesday. The rest were in stable condition.

It was unclear if the car had crashed into the home, Chief Craner said. The Fire Department said its investigators were working with the Syracuse Police, National Grid and New York State pipeline inspectors to determine the cause of the explosion.

“When we arrived there was a heavy odor of gas and power lines down,” Chief Craner said, “but other than that I have no other information on any possible causes.”

Two families were injured in the collapse, Mayor Ben Walsh said. One family of seven people lived at the house. The second family was visiting at the time of the collapse.

Charlie Szuck lives two doors down from the house that collapsed. He was watching television when he heard a deafening sound.

“It sounded like a bomb going off,” said Mr. Szuck, 69. “The whole house shook.”

By the time he got outside, Mr. Szuck said, police officers had arrived and were ordering people to stay back. The initial response was frenetic, Chief Craner said, as firefighters rushed into and out of the building to rescue people.

That process slowed as firefighters worked to stabilize the building and conduct a painstaking search for survivors. Two trained dogs were brought in to search for living survivors, and a cadaver dog searched the property as a precaution. Everyone inside the house escaped alive, Chief Monds said.

“When you look at the condition of the building, to know that there were 13 people inside that have made it out is remarkable,” Chief Monds said.

Ken Sturtz contributed reporting from Syracuse, N.Y. Michael Levenson also contributed reporting.