By JUDY RATTNER
The store, along with three others in the row of shops that are rented from the family that owns the Associated building, sustained smoke damage from a fire that started shortly before midnight on Sept. 11.
Associated managed to reopen briefly the following day, and on Friday the store was open for its normal business hours. An investigation by Rockville Centre Chief Fire Inspector Bob Seaman and the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office pinpointed the cause of the late-night fire to a motor in a refrigeration unit in the store's kitchen.
"I didn't want this to turn into another Foodtown," said Fire Chief Michael Lapkowski, referring to the blaze that destroyed the Foodtown store on South Long Beach Road two years ago.
An employee stocking food at Associated the night of the fire called the fire department at 11:52 p.m., when the refrigeration unit in the kitchen suddenly burst into flames. His quick action, and the rapid response of the fire department, are credited with preventing the fire from causing much greater damage. "It could have been a lot worse if [the fire department] had been here even 15 minutes later," said a store manager helping with the cleanup on Saturday.
Arriving first on the scene that night, Lapkowski reported "heavy smoke showing." That call was then upgraded to a "signal 10-working fire" and the department's mutual aid plan was put into effect.
Fire units were sent from Lynbrook, Lakeview, Baldwin and East Rockaway. A Firefighter Assist and Search Team, known as a FAST crew, came from Lynbrook. The South Hempstead and Freeport departments sent ladder trucks to stand by at the Maple Avenue firehouse, and pumpers were also sent from Oceanside, Lynbrook, South Hempstead and Freeport. In addition, ambulances from South Hempstead, Freeport and Baldwin were on standby, although no injuries were reported.
Firefighters made what they described as an "aggressive attack" on the fire, knocking down the flames and confining the blaze to the area where it started. But heavy smoke spread throughout the row of stores, forcing firefighters to break into each building to make sure the flames had not spread through the ceiling. "The fire had a good head start and was moving fast," said Lapkowski, "but we had to make sure it wasn't burning over our heads and spreading to neighboring stores."
According to Danny Nasta Sr. and his son, Danny Nasta Jr., members of the family who have owned and operated the neighborhood grocery since 1959, nothing in the store was affected, thanks to a firewall and the direction of the wind that night. The Nastas said that as a result of the fire, however, all fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and deli items had to be thrown out.
By Sept. 13, the village's Department of Safety Inspection had issued a permit enabling Associated to begin temporary repairs to the damaged sections of the building, having determined that it was structurally sound. A special delivery of trucks from the warehouse that morning enabled supermarket workers to begin restocking the shelves.
On Saturday, the Nastas said that after the damaged areas were cleaned and gutted, they would bring in an architect to draw up plans for a redesign and expansion of the kitchen area of the supermarket. "From every bad there is good," said Danny Nasta Sr. The store's line of prepared food, which started with barbecued chickens and has expanded to include full entrees, has become very popular, he said. Because the meals are homemade, offer generous portions and are well-priced, said Danny Nasta Jr., many senior citizens, and children of elderly parents, have come to rely on them. The prepared food selections will be back as soon as possible, the Nastas said.
Other commercial residents of the building were also looking to the future. La Dolce Vita, a beauty salon; TJ Cleaners, a dry cleaning shop; and Village Homes, a real estate company, all had boarded-up windows and padlocked front doors, having sustained smoke damage as well as damage to their ceilings and windows as a result of firefighters' efforts. On Saturday, Danny Nasta Sr. said they should be able to reopen as soon as replacement ceiling and glass panels arrived.
Jennifer Lee, who has owned TJ Cleaners for two years, was in her store Saturday but was not open for business. She said she was "hoping and praying to reopen soon." The mother of two children who attend Wilson elementary school, who lives just around the corner from the Associated building, said she would send out 600 articles of clothing that were in her store the night of the fire for special ozone cleaning to remove the smell of smoke.
Lee was unsure, however, of how things would work out for her business. "I will have to repaint, clean the floor to remove the odor and reclean all the clothing," she said, fighting back tears. "Every day I am losing money, but I still pay all the bills."
Barbara Goldfeder, the co-owner of Village Homes, which has been in the building for 28 years, was far more upbeat. The fire, she said, would have no effect on the business. Her 12 employees were able to work from home "as long as we have electricity and our voice mail system." She said her staff has been "working around the inconvenience" and would come in to clean up as early as Monday. As for her landlords, she said, "Associated has been wonderful, supportive and very helpful. They are doing everything they can to get us back in. We're very lucky to have such a caring and cooperative landlord."
Rory J. Thompson contributed to this story. Comments about it? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
