Fire News

Bellmore man dies shoveling snow after the storm

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A 38-year-old Bellmore man died shoveling snow on Sunday morning after a blizzard barreled across the South Shore over the weekend, according to Nassau County Executive Mangano.

Mangano announced the death during a news conference on Monday. He was one of five people who died in Nassau during and after the storm, including residents from Seaford, West Hempstead, Locust Valley and Oyster Bay, Mangano said.

Vincent Scaduto, the Bellmore Fire Department spokesman, said the department received the call at 9:37 a.m. on Jan. 24 for an unresponsive man who had been clearing snow from his yard.

The department dispatched two ambulances, each with paramedics. They found the man unconscious. He might have stopped breathing, Scaduto said, though he was unsure.

Bellmore paramedics revived him and rushed him to NUMC, according to Scaduto. He said he had no further information.

A fierce storm, brought on by a powerful low-pressure system that swept up the Atlantic Coast, brought an estimated two feet of snow to Bellmore-Merrick from late on Jan. 22 to the early morning of Jan. 24.

Firefighters throughout Bellmore-Merrick slept over at their firehouses to be able to get to calls quickly. "We want to have the members and the manpower at the firehouse. In a snowstorm, we have to have the resources at the firehouse, ready to go," said Ron Luparello, the Merrick Fire Department spokesman.

The Merrick, Bellmore and North Merrick fire department each had between 30 and 40 members who stayed over at the firehouses from early on Saturday morning through Sunday.The North Bellmore Fire Department could not be reached at press time.

Scaduto reminded homeowners to stay safe while cleaning up after a snowstorm. Anyone with a heart condition, he noted, should never shovel snow. People should also rest periodically and stay hydrated, while lifting snow with the legs, not the back.