By:Nick Buglione
Some 55 firefighters and eight trucks from the North Bellmore Fire Department rushed to the East Meadow neighborhood as fire consumed the home at 76 Taylor Ave. around 2:10 a.m. Friday morning, eventually claiming the life of 25-year-old Mark Bernetti.
On Saturday, passing motorists slowed down to catch a glimpse of the scarred and boarded-up edifice, now a shell of the house Mark, father Dario, 63, mother Margaret, 63, and sister Sasha, 29, had for years called home.
A brisk wind kicked up some of the burnt debris strewn across the family's lawn, blowing it over to the grass of next-door neighbor Hal Rosner, who had watched the fire unfold the night before. "I woke up from the commotion of the people screaming and yelling and the general ruckus," said Rosner, who has lived next door to the Bernettis for 12 years.
Making his way outside, it didn't take long for him to realize something was terribly wrong. Only three Bernettis were standing outside the burning house. "I said to Sasha, 'Where is your brother?'" Rosner recalled. "'Where is Mark?' And she pointed to the bedroom [upstairs]."
It was engulfed in flames.
Dario was inconsolable, crying hysterically on the cold, snowy ground while firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze, Rosner said.
Despite efforts from firefighters, Mark could not be reached in time, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes, according to the North Bellmore Fire Department. The rest of the Bernetti family was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation and later released.
"The fire is of an undetermined origin," said Cliff Newman, supervisor of investigations at the Nassau County Fire Marshal's office. "It's a non-suspicious fire, and it's still being investigated."
North Bellmore Fire Chief Joseph Lomino said the fire started in Mark Bernetti's bedroom.
Also awakened by the screams, a neighbor close to the Bernettis said she called the fire department only to find out from the dispatcher that someone from the family was already on the line. "The hardest thing to hear is that they're on their way and then have to come out and wait," said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified further. "It's nobody's fault. They're just volunteers."
Although part of East Meadow, all homes west of the Wantagh Parkway, south of Hempstead Turnpike, east of Newbridge Road and north of North Jerusalem Avenue are covered collectively by the North Bellmore, Wantagh and Levittown fire departments. North Bellmore handles the Taylor Avenue section, even though East Meadow Fire Station No. 3, on Newbridge Road and Salisbury Park Drive, is the closest firehouse to that area.
Still, Lomino said, the department was on the scene within five minutes of receiving the call.
Having lost their house, many of their possessions, and worse, a son and a brother, the Bernettis have been staying with friends on nearby North Pine Street. Dario, Margaret and Sasha returned to the scene of the tragedy last Saturday, clutching each other arm in arm as they surveyed the damage and read a sign that a well-wisher had stuck in the lawn. "God bless this house," the sign read. "God bless the Bernettis."
Still obviously distraught over their loss, Sasha said she did not want to comment on her brother's death. Others close to the family had a hard time expressing their grief in words. "The only thing to say is that there isn't anything to say," Rosner said. "To lose a child, there's just no way to describe that."
Anne Zebrowski, who lives around the block on Diamond Avenue and used to have Sasha babysit her kids, was equally distraught. "It's sad," she said. "They're very nice people. Margaret is just the nicest, nicest person."
Earlier this month Mark had turned 25, and his future seemed bright, said childhood friend Nancy Silva.
A graduate of George Washington University, he was working on his master's in history at Hunter College. Before that, he attended Chaminade and St. Dominic high schools, after finishing, like most area youth, Woodland Middle School and Parkway Elementary.
"He was passionate about everything he really loved," Silva said. "If he was into something, he would put 150 percent into it." His dream was to become a teacher, and he had done some substituting, she said. To put money in his pocket, Mark waited tables at Major's Steakhouse on East Meadow Avenue.
Though he held strong opinions on historical and political issues, Mark always respected other people's views, Silva said. "He was always a courteous person," she added. "He exuded this energy."
Bernetti was a skilled athlete, and loved to swim and ski. By all accounts he was a talented dancer, and frequented clubs and raves, Silva said. In the summer months, neighbors often glimpsed the tall, lanky man stretched out in a chair on his lawn, music blaring, working on his tan.
"He was such a good kid," Silva said, at times fighting back tears. "He was always looking out for me."
Bernetti's funeral was held at St. Raphael's Roman Catholic Church in East Meadow, and he was laid to rest at nearby Holy Rood Cemetery.
Silva and other neighbors have created the Friends of Bernetti fund to benefit the family. Donations can be sent to the Bernetti Family, c/o Commerce Bank, 2549 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY 11554.
