By Jeff Lipton
, but the 70-year-old man was also known for hoarding old newspapers and other debris, which made his home extremely cluttered. That habit became his tragic downfall on Saturday when a raging fire killed the elderly couple, as the mounds of debris turned the home into a virtual death trap, officials said.
The debris apparently helped the fire spread quickly and may have cut off escape routes for the Fleischmanns, while hampering efforts of firefighters to rescue them, authorities said.
A next-door neighbor called 911 shortly before 5 a.m. after seeing flames shooting out of the windows of the two-story colonial at 388 Oakland Ave., officials said. "It was a full-blown fire, and flames were coming out of every window in the house," said Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Chief Donaven Wright.
"There was all stuff in the house, newspapers and books," said Wright. "It looked like he didn't throw anything out."
He said the clutter hampered efforts of firefighters to battle the blaze. "We could barely get from room to room, with the papers and debris in every room of the house," the fire chief said. "They saved everything. We had a tough time getting to the front door. The whole house was loaded up with papers.
"I saw newspaper clippings from 1975," the fire chief added. "This is what it was like throughout the house."
Wright said the man's body was found at the top of the stairs and it appeared as if he tried to make it down the stairs to evacuate the burning building. His 68-year-old wife was found in a rear bedroom of the home and apparently died trying to escape out of a back window, he said. The piles of debris apparently thwarted their frantic efforts to escape, authorities said. The debris was so heavy that firefighters could not find the woman's body for about two hours after the fire was extinguished, Wright said.
Fire investigators said they were still trying to determine the cause and origin of the blaze, which totally demolished the building the Fleischmanns called their home for about 25 years.
But the blaze is not believed to be suspicious, they said.
Neighbors said the clutter was so bad that it often spilled onto the front porch of the home, making it almost impassible and reportedly forcing the letter-carriers to refuse to deliver mail to the home. Some of the debris was piled to the ceiling in some rooms, neighbors said.
"The fire was such a horrible thing," said neighbor and longtime friend of the Fleischmanns, Shoshana Bodek. "They were really nice people, intelligent people. He just had this quirk [about collecting papers]. He was not well. How could you be - living in those conditions? Some tried very hard to compromise with him and do something to help him."
The couple's neighbors and friends said family tried to help them clean up but Mr. Fleischmann would compile more debris in the home.
"It's a pity," Bodek said. "They had so much to offer. They were very good people."
Even with his bad habits, Mr. Fleischmann, a retired stock analyst, was "a very bright man," she said.
Residents said despite the habit of hoarding newspapers, the Fleischmanns were very good neighbors and no one wanted to make trouble for them. In fact, Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise said not one of their neighbors lodged a complaint about the debris-strewn home.
"No one ever complained to us about it," Parise said. "I understand that after he was told it would be nicer if he cleaned up, he would move it from one place to another [in the house]."
Parise said the property, which is located across from the "Red Shul" on Oakland Avenue, was an eyesore, with debris piled on the porch. "When you walk by or you drive by, you could see the newspapers piled up and the synagogue is across the street and hundreds of people would walk by it all the time," Parise said.
He said he believes the village's buildings department had discussions over the years with Mr. Fleischmann about the debris, but possibly none recently. "I know the buildings department talked to him about it a number of times," Parise said. "I don't know what we could have done about it, send them a summons?"
Parise said Ms. Fleischmann was a regular fixture at his "Tuesday Nite Concerts under the Gazebo" in Cedarhurst Park during the summer months. She was a retired French teacher who would get up before 7 a.m. to baby-sit, neighbors said.
"She was a wonderful person who had a good education and was very intelligent," the mayor said. "I've known them for years, such nice people."
Parise said a temporary orange construction fence was placed around the home to keep people off the property. He said the village will probably have to apply for a demolition permit to raze the badly gutted building. "We'll work to get it down as soon as possible," he said.
One Woodmere firefighter suffered third-degree burns battling the Saturday morning blaze and was treated at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, Wright said.
About 150 firefighters from more than a dozen departments fought the blaze, bringing it under control in about 90 minutes. Assisting the Lawrence-Cedarhurst firefighters were departments from Inwood, Woodmere, Hewlett, Meadowmere Park, Long Beach, Valley Stream, East Rockaway, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Lynbrook, Malverne, Elmont and Franklin Square.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
