Public Safety

Homeowners, pets escape house fire in Bellmore

Fire chief: Cause still unknown

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The Bellmore Fire Department responded to a fire at a home on Bellmore Avenue between Martin Avenue and Oak Street on Feb. 20.

The owner of the house, John Williamson, called 911 at 10:13 a.m. when he and his wife, Annie, woke up and saw smoke. “We’re okay,” he told the Herald roughly an hour later. “We ran outside and got our animals out— thank God.”

Williamson referred to the couple’s two dogs and two cats, all of which rested, unharmed, in the couple’s backyard.

The fire department was on the scene in less than six minutes, according to Chief Thomas Stoerger, and the cause is currently unknown. It started in the kitchen of the home and was contained to the one room. There were no injuries reported and no severe damage outside of the kitchen.

The North Bellmore Fire Department responded as a Firefighter Assist and Search Team and the North Merrick Fire Department provided additional assistance.