67.0°,
Overcast House fire in Atlantic Beach
No injuries in Bermuda Street blaze
A possible crack in the chimney resulted in an early morning house fire on Jan. 11, but no injuries were reported, at 173 Bermuda Street in Atlantic Beach, according to Long Beach Fire Chief Scott Kemins.
The fire, which began at approximately 6:15 a.m., was called in by the Romas family, who live in the house. As firefighters arrived on the scene five family members were the process of getting out of the home.
“There was a light smoke condition for quite awhile and the fire appeared to be in the walls,” Kemins said. “It appeared to have started from the fireplace, which failed at some point and flames entered the walls.”
Kemins said that the home’s chimney (the house was built in 1931) most likely cracked, which allowed the fire from the fireplace to move into the walls of the house.
“Chimney’s are brick and mortar and they crack, a crack allowed hot air out of the chimney and into the walls,” he said. The fire was extinguished at 7:15 a.m., Kemins noted.
The fire was called in by Merri Romas, who smelled smoke in her bedroom and through the wall. “It didn’t smell like the fireplace,” she said. “There were cracks in the chimney, so smoke came up through the wall.”
She said that the family had lit a fire in the fireplace at 6 p.m. and according to Kemins, that fire was still active when the firefighters responded to the scene.
Romas said everyone is safe, including the dog, and there will be a lot of clean up to do. In the meantime the family that includes another child, who was not at home at the time of the fire, will be staying with relatives, while they figure out what to do next with the house.
“The firefighters were great, the police were here, it was a little chaotic,” she said about the scene. “My bedroom and living room are ruined.”
A routine investigation will be conducted by the Nassau County Fire Marshal, Kemins said. He termed the fire non-suspicious.
In all, 50 firefighters from the Long Beach, Inwood and Lawrence-Cedarhurst fire departments responded, along with Atlantic Beach Rescue and Nassau County police. The departments used 11 pieces of equipment, Kemins noted.
“The fast and exceptional response in numbers to this house fire was like nothing that I have ever seen,” said James Gary Connors, a Bermuda Street resident and former deputy mayor of the village.
