Fire damages Bellmore bakery

Joan’s GF Great Bakes of Bellmore, a 1,600-square-foot commercial kitchen, suffered extensive damage in a fire Wednesday night, according to owner Joan Popkin, of Merrick.

The fire was called in by a North Bellmore firefighter who was passing by the bakery, said Vincent Scaduto, public information officer for the Bellmore Fire Department. The North Bellmore Fire Department responded with a ladder truck and was joined by a Bellmore engine company that attacked the fire from the interior. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze, preventing damage to the surrounding stores. Units from the Merrick and Wantagh fire departments provided backup, Scaduto said.

Joan’s is a gluten-free baking facility that produces any number of foods, freezes them and ships them to 180 stores on the East Coast, including seven New York area Whole Foods stores. Popkin, who had been at the facility for three years, said she was devastated by news of the fire, but was “going to be rebuilding as fast as humanly possible.”

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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