Onondaga Hill Fire Department

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

Onondaga Hill Fire Department The Onondaga Hill Fire Department is a volunteer organization in the Town of Onondaga that borders the southwest corner of the City of Syracuse.

The volunteers of the Onondaga Hill Fire Department respond to approximately 1000 emergency calls annually. The Onondaga Hill Fire District is very diverse and contains the SUNY Onondaga Community College Campus, The SUNY Upstate University Hospital Community Campus, as well as suburban and rural areas. The members respond to calls for structure fires, motor vehicle collisions, emergency medical services, and numerous other types of incidents.

10/13/2026

Yesterday evening at 6:10 pm the Onondaga Hill Volunteers and automatic mutual aid were alerted to a possible multiple occupancy fire at the Meadows Apartments.

Ladder 2 (Lt. Rodgers) responded and arrived 4 minutes post dispatch finding a 2 story apartment building with no signs of smoke or fire visible from the exterior. Truck 44 (FF. Moore) and Taunton Ladder 5 arrived shortly after and units investigated an apartment with an active alarm and reported smoke condition. With no evidence of smoke or fire in the apartment command held with units on scene.

Units were on scene for approximately 30 minutes before returning to service.

The Onondaga Hill Volunteers are excited to announce an update in the replacement of Engine 3!The new Engine 3 is partwa...
10/13/2026

The Onondaga Hill Volunteers are excited to announce an update in the replacement of Engine 3!

The new Engine 3 is partway through production and will hopefully be service ready by the end of this year! The new engine is a stock unit from Spencer Manufacturing. This stock unit was able to be delivered 1 year sooner and for up to $200,000 less than a full custom engine build.

Once new Engine 3 is in service, some of the money from the sale of our 2006 Pierce Engine will be used to send Engine 32 out for refurbishment. This will allow Engine 32 many more years of service as a reserve apparatus for a fraction of the cost of a new replacement.

This morning at 01:00am the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were alerted to respond mutual aid to the Lafayette Fire District o...
10/11/2026

This morning at 01:00am the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were alerted to respond mutual aid to the Lafayette Fire District on a reported barn fire.

Engine 32 (Lt. Rodgers) handled the alarm responding with a full crew of 6 and arriving as the third due engine. The crew operated a hose line and opened up hotspots for just over 2 and a half hours before returning to service.

While Engine 32 operated additional manpower backfilled the station staffing Ladder 2 in the event of further alarms.

This past Tuesday afternoon the Onondaga Hill Volunteers received a call into the station from a citizen requesting assi...
10/08/2026

This past Tuesday afternoon the Onondaga Hill Volunteers received a call into the station from a citizen requesting assistance. A neighbors cat had climbed approximately 60 feet in the air and had become stuck when one of the branches it had climbed up broke.

Truck 44 (FF Golden) handled the alarm. The crew split into two teams, one utilizing a salvage cover as a makeshift rescue net, while the other utilized the aerial device to rescue the cat. The cat was successfully rescued from the tree without incident.

Wondering why our firefighters respond to requests like this? Often times if the fire department does not respond good intended citizens will attempt to rescue the animal. These citizens tend to not be properly trained or equipped to safely effect the rescue and can quickly get stuck or injured themselves. This combined with the opportunity for operator practice out in the district makes these types of calls very worthwhile for our members to handle.

The Onondaga Hill Volunteers would like to welcome you to our open house! Come down from now until 4pm and enjoy seeing ...
10/03/2026

The Onondaga Hill Volunteers would like to welcome you to our open house! Come down from now until 4pm and enjoy seeing the apparatus and volunteers that serve your community. We have apparatus tours, bucket rides in the truck, live fire demonstrations as well as a bounce house!

4831 Velasko Rd
10am-4pm

09/29/2026

Last night at 21:33, the Onondaga Hill Volunteers and mutual aid were alerted to a reported fire at Van Duyn Rehabilitation Facility. Car 1, Engine 32 (FF. Bender), Ladder 2(Lt. Rodgers), and Truck 44 (FF. Moore) all responded within 3 minutes of dispatch.

Upon arrival, units were notified by security that there was no fire and this was most likely a false alarm. Command held with units arrived, who investigated to confirm that there was no emergency.

Prior to this alarm, the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were completing a tactical EMS training provided by On X Dynamics. This training included simulated tactical EMS operations that challenged our providers to manage multiple casualties in a high risk environment.

Interested in seeing what our volunteers are capable of? Join us at our open house event this Saturday, October 3rd, from 10am to 4pm.

This afternoon at 2:40pm the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were alerted to respond as the Truck Company for a second alarm re...
09/28/2026

This afternoon at 2:40pm the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were alerted to respond as the Truck Company for a second alarm residential fire in the Tully Fire District.

Ladder 2 (Lt. Pereira) took in the alarm with a crew of 6. The crew arrived and was assigned to place multiple hose lines into service. The crew remained on scene for approximately 3 hours assisting with suppression and overhaul.

This makes the 10th fire members have responded on this month.

This morning just before 09:00am Onondaga Hill Ladder 2 (FF. Rodriguez) was special called to assist on a dryer fire in ...
09/25/2026

This morning just before 09:00am Onondaga Hill Ladder 2 (FF. Rodriguez) was special called to assist on a dryer fire in the Nedrow Fire District.

Prior to crews arrival employees successfully utilized onsite fire extinguishers to minimize the size of the fire. Crews then utilized water cans to finish extinguishing the smoldering materials.

Want to learn about maintaining and how to properly use an extinguisher? Stop by our open house Saturday October 3rd between 10am and 4pm to learn on our new live fire extinguisher training prop!

09/25/2026

Yesterday evening around 5:15pm the Onondaga Hill Volunteers were alerted to respond on a working structure fire in the Fairmount Fire District.

Ladder 2 (Lt. Rodgers) was out the door at dispatch and arrived as the 3rd due Ladder Company. Members handled various assignments including ventilating, removing overhead doors, and operating high volume hose lines. Ladder 2 operated on scene for over 3 and a half hours before returning to service.

While Ladder 2 operated on the fire scene, which eventually went to 3 alarms, additional manpower back filled the station. Engine 32 and Rescue 1 were staffed in quarters to help cover our district and any others who were operating at the fire.

It’s been a busy September for the Onondaga Hill Volunteers. Since the beginning of the month members have handled 64 ca...
09/22/2026

It’s been a busy September for the Onondaga Hill Volunteers. Since the beginning of the month members have handled 64 calls for service, including:
4 First due box alarms
4 First due contents fires
1 First due working structure fire
11 Reported elevator entrapments, leading to 12 people rescued
1 Hazardous materials leak
1 Ruptured natural gas line
4 MVC’s
2 Instances of 3 simultaneous alarms

On the 1st at approximately 03:00am Onondaga Hill and automatic aid were dispatched to a reported residential structure fire on Tabitha Creek Dr. Ladder 2 (Lt. Rodgers) arrived within 5 minutes of dispatch finding a smoke condition from unattended cooking, reducing the alarm to Ladder 2, Car 2, and Truck 44.

On the 4th at approximately 03:00pm members were requested to assist a new OCC resident with removing their cat who had become trapped in their vehicle. The cat had climbed through the dash of the vehicle and became trapped between the top of the dashboard and the back of the dash cluster. Members disassembled a section of the dash in order to guide the cat back out of the area it was stuck in. Members were able to successfully remove the cat without injury to the cat before reassembling the dash of the vehicle.

On the 7th at approximately 08:20am members were alerted to a reported electrical fire at Upstate Community Hospital. Crews on Ladder 2 (Lt. Rodgers), Rescue 1 (PDC Mangano), and Howlett Hill Engine 3 investigated and confirmed the fire self extinguished without extension.

On the 8th at approximately 07:45pm members were alerted to a fire alarm activation at the SUNY OCC dormitory on Onondaga Rd. Ladder 2 (Lt. Rodgers) arrived 4 minutes post dispatch to a report of smoke in the area of the 4th floor kitchen, requesting the alarm filled to a possible appliance fire. Ladder 2 and Rescue 1 (PDC Mangano) investigated finding no active fire holding Engine 32 in quarters for additional alarms.

Want to learn how to keep yourself and your family safe? Looking for a fun activity to do with the kids? Stop by our firehouse on October 3rd between 10:00am and 4:00pm for our annual open house.

Address

4831 Velasko Road
Syracuse, NY
13215

Telephone

+13154929191

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Onondaga Hill Fire Department posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Onondaga Hill Fire Department:

Shortcuts

Share

Category