LBFD battles Park Avenue blaze

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries during house fire

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The Long Beach Fire Department battled an early-morning house fire on West Park Avenue Friday that left two firefighters injured and a family displaced.

Firefighters responded to a call at 4:03 a.m. at 616 W. Park Ave., in the Walks neighborhood, and found that the fire had spread from the first floor of the home to the second floor, and immediately made an “aggressive” attack.

Sixty-five Long Beach firefighters responded to the scene, with mutual aid from the Lawrence Cedarhurst, Island Park, Point Lookout-Lido, Oceanside, and Inwood Fire Departments, as well as Atlantic Beach Rescue.

The fire was under control in approximately 30 minutes, Fire Chief Richard Corbett said, though two firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

“One had a minor burn to the hand and the other was heat related,” said Corbett, who led the operation.

A mother and her two children were in the home at the time of the fire and escaped. The mother was treated for minor smoke inhalation at the scene, but all are OK, Corbett said. No other injuries were reported.

However, the fire caused extensive damage to the home, Corbett said, and the family is temporarily displaced.

“We had extensive damage on the first floor, and some fire and smoke damage on the second floor,” he said. “We had the Red Cross come in to assist.”

Corbett said that the cause of the fire is believed to be electrical and started on the first floor of the home. It is not believed to be suspicious, he said, though the cause is under investigation.

“It appears to be electrical, but we called in the Nassau County Fire Marshal just to confirm,” Corbett said.

Firefighters also had to deal with construction debris that covered a nearby fire hydrant when they attempted to hook up a secondary line during the operation, and were forced to remove the material.

“It definitely slowed down secondary lines and operation,” Corbett said. “If you see construction debris blocking a fire hydrant, call the Police Department because it does hinder fire operations. ”