House fire in Atlantic Beach
No injuries in Bermuda Street blaze
A crack in a chimney resulted in an early-morning house fire on Tuesday at 173 Bermuda St. in Atlantic Beach, according to Long Beach Fire Chief Scott Kemins. No injuries were reported.
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 members of the family were evacuating the home.
“There was a light smoke condition for quite a while, 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.”
The house was built in 1931.
“Chimneys are brick and mortar and they crack,” Kemins explained. “A crack allowed hot air out of the chimney and into the walls.”
The fire was extinguished at 7:15 a.m.
“It didn’t smell like the fireplace,” said Merri Romas, a mother of four, who smelled smoke in her bedroom and through the wall, and made the emergency call. “There were cracks in the chimney, so smoke came up through the wall.”
The family had lit a fire in the fireplace the night before, Romas said, and according to Kemins the fire was active when firefighters arrived on the scene.
Romas said that everyone in her family is safe, including their dog, and there will be a lot of cleanup to do. In the meantime, the family — including a child who was not at home at the time — 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,” Romas said. “My bedroom and living room are ruined.”
A routine investigation will be conducted by the Nassau County fire marshal, said Kemins, who described the fire as 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.
