Thursday, October 1, 2026
A Long Beach fire truck killed a pedestrian late Wednesday night as firefighters responded to an emergency call, after police said that the victim ‘ran into’ the vehicle head first.
Nassau County Police said the incident happened at 10:43 p.m. on Nov. 3, as the fire engine was heading south on National Boulevard in response to an emergency call at the Grandell Nursing Home at 645 West Broadway.
Fidias Amaya, 67, of Long Beach, “struck the side of the fire truck,” and was pronounced dead later that night. Long Beach Fire Chief Scott Kemins said that the fire truck had its lights and siren on at the time of the incident, and that it had “the green light” as it drove south through the intersection at National Boulevard and West Park Avenue.
He added that when the incident took place, firefighters immediately stopped and notified the fire dispatcher, the police department and requested a trauma team as firefighters treated Amaya.
A Long Beach Fire Department ambulance, which was also en route to the emergency call at the nursing home, responded to the scene immediately, Kemins said. Amaya went into cardiac arrest and was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was pronounced dead at 11:21 p.m.
Kemins said that the truck left Engine 3 headquarters at city hall and was following procedure as it responded to the call at the nursing home. He explained that a patient at the home had pulled a fire alarm, which turned out to be false.
The driver of the engine is a veteran of the Long Beach Fire Department, Kemins said, and described the incident as an unfortunate accident. Kemins and other sources said that Amaya came out of nowhere.
“The chauffer [of the fire truck] was one of our career firefighters with over 20 years of experience,” Kemins said, adding that the driver of the truck was treated for psychological trauma at Long Beach Medical Center. No charges were filed against the driver, he said.
Kemins said that the Nassau County Police Department’s homicide squad and highway patrol conducted a brake test on the truck and that “it passed with flying colors.”
