By Nick Buglione and Joe Kellard
Some 450 representatives from fire departments throughout Nassau County turned out for the event, helping raise $10,000 that will go toward the Brothers Relief Fund set up by the Oceanside Fire Department.
ÒSome of these guys are going to be out of work a long time,Ó said Robert Beck, East Meadow Fire Department commissioner. ÒThis is to help with some of their medical expenses.Ó
Chelsea Street, a bar and grill at the corner of East Meadow Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike, hosted the July 17 event and provided food and drinks at no charge, said East Meadow Fire Department Chief John Priest.
Two dozen volunteer firefighters were injured fighting a fire at Oceanside Industrial Laundry on Long Beach Road in the early morning hours of June 29. Some 17 local departments responded to the blaze.
Ten of the volunteers, nine from Oceanside and one from Baldwin, were rushed to the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow with second-degree burns on the face, head and ears.
ÒIÕm sure that many of them are facing a tough road ahead,Ó said Priest, explaining why East Meadow decided to hold the fund-raiser. ÒThatÕs what firefighters do. When one of us is hurt, then weÕre all hurt.Ó
About 12 minutes after firefighters arrived at the scene, an acetylene tank exploded inside the building.
At the time of the explosion, most of the volunteers had evacuated the building, though five or six were still close to the blaze, according to John Traverso, chief of the Oceanside Fire Department.
ÊÊ"All that I remember is that we were fighting the fire in one of the rooms from the outside, and as we were putting water on the fire the next think I heard was a boom, and then I went flying," said Gary Fish, a lieutenant with the Oceanside Fire Department, who was among the injured taken to NUMC. "Then, a few seconds later, I remember being carried out from there by about four or five people."
About 20 minutes after the first blast, a propane tank exploded. The Nassau County Fire Marshal has ruled that the fire was an accident. Hot laundry linens being stored in the warehouse in combination with industrial strength detergents had spontaneously burst into flames.
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray (R-Levittown) recently gave the injured firefighters the Distinguished Service Medal, the townÕs highest honor.
