Long Beach Fire Department braves the storm

“They have two young children, and they lost everything,” Long Beach Fire Department Chief Rich Corbett said of a Wyoming Avenue family whose home was destroyed in a storm-related fire on Sunday. “[The damage] was extensive — I don’t believe they were home when it first happened, they got there as we were fighting the fire.”

It was the second of several house fires on Sunday for the Long Beach Fire Department, whose members worked more than 30 hours during Hurricane Irene and its aftermath. More than 80 firefighters were on call, and the department received assistance from FEMA — the agency sent two additional ambulances to Long Beach — the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management and the National Guard, who were, among other emergency efforts, on hand to assist with emergency transportation to hospitals outside of the evacuated areas.

“The firefighters that did stay, they actually sent their families away [before the hurricane] and came back to town to make sure our community was safe,” Corbett said. The Elmont, Franklin Square and Levittown fire departments also assisted the LBFD.

"Our biggest fear was — because Island Park floods before we do, as does the Meadowbrook — we were concerned that if we had any serious trouble with people who didn’t leave, how were we going to get them out,” said Corbett, adding that the department worked with OEM to formulate a plan way in advance of the storm’s arrival.

“This is the first time in my 31 years in the Fire Department that I’ve seen a mandatory evacuation,” said Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins. “We had no storm related injuries or fatalities. Everybody did the right thing.”

Corbett said that the majority of calls were for downed electrical wires, gas or electrical emergencies and fires. That included a call on Connecticut Avenue along the bay, where firefighters had to wade through water waist-deep and maneuver through tough conditions — downed power lines made for hazardous terrain as firefighters entered flooded streets and homes.

“We had to fight the fire and the water was waist deep,” Corbett said. “We obviously have to be careful, because when storm drains back up, there’s the potential the manholes can be lifted off.”