By Steve Grogan
After the family spent a day moving into their new home, heavy smoke suddenly engulfed the house from a fire that began in the basement. The family called the Lynbrook Fire Department and said they were trapped on the second floor. Chief John Crowley Jr. and his three deputy chiefs, Dave Pearsall, James McDermott and Keith Festa, answered the call and arrived on the scene just moments later.
Crowley later said that the smoke from the fire was so thick that when he pulled into Horton Avenue from Sunrise Highway, the house could not even be seen. The chiefs immediately concluded that the fire had already engulfed the north side of the home, from the basement to the second floor, including the roof. They also determined that the occupants of the house had by that time escaped the blaze. The first floor of the house was vacant.
Fortunately, the Tally-Ho Engine No. 3 firehouse is just two blocks away, and it was the first firetruck on the scene. In order to fight the raging fire, five hose lines were stretched -- four attack lines and an additional backup.
Within minutes, the fire trucks from Lynbrook's other companies arrived. Hose Company, Engine Company and Vulcan Company each joined the effort to fight the fire, which spread quickly and engulfed the entire house. The fire in the basement was quickly extinguished, but not before it made its way up the interior walls to each floor and through the roof.
The fire was so intense that both of Lynbrook's Truck Company ladders were used. The tower ladder set up in front of the home, while the second ladder set up on its north side, on East New York Avenue. Firefighters climbed the ladders and fought the flames, which at times leapt some 20 feet above the roof.
At one point Crowley ordered all firefighters out of the building for a short time for fear the roof would collapse. After part of the roof did collapse onto the second floor, firefighters went back inside to continue dousing pockets of fire.
The Valley Stream, East Rockaway, Malverne, Rockville Centre and Lakeview fire departments were also called in. It took over one hour for firefighters to bring the blaze under control, and nearly two more hours for them to extinguish it. In the process, two Lynbrook volunteer firefighters were injured. A firefighter with a possible broken ankle was treated at the scene and transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital. A second firefighter, who injured his foot, was treated and released.
Concerned with how fast the fire spread, Crowley called the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office to the scene. There is a possibility that the fire may have been caused, or at least spread, by a gas leak in the basement of the house. No final determination of the cause of the fire had been made as the Herald went to press, but it is not considered suspicious. Damage was estimated at more than $350,000.
Grogan is a former captain of the Lynbrook Fire Department
