Firefighters battle Clark Street blaze

Long Beach firefighters including First Due Engine 2343 responded to a house fire at 78 Clark Street on Friday around 1 p.m. Sources said that a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the roof of the home and immediately alerted the homeowners.

Sources said a woman and a baby were inside during the fire, although no injuries were reported. The homeowners fled to a neighbor’s home.

Long Beach Fire Department officials at the scene were not immediately available for comment, although sources said that First Due firefighters quickly brought the fire under control, as roughly 50 firefighters responded to the scene and worked to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters from Oceanside and Lawrence/Cedarhurst assisted.

Fire Department sources said that the fire may have originated in the fire place.

Peter Walsh, who lives at 70 Clark, said he heard a crackling noise coming from the home as he raked his yard shortly before 1 p.m.

"I walked over and saw the house was on fire, and I called 911," Walsh said. "It seemed like the chimney was engulfed, and smoke was coming out of the roof."

Neighbors said that the owner rents the home to tenants. Walsh said that two women were at home at the time of the fire with a baby, and explained that both escaped safely.

"It was a pretty big fire - I've never seen anything like that before," he said.

The owner and landlord of the home, Kaz Zoughi, said he was at work when the fire began and he learned about the incident around 4 p.m. He acknowledged that the fire had originated in the chimney.

"I don't know how it happened," he said.

Zoughi said the Nassau County Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire.