By David Lurie
Indeed, a generation later, the conflagration remains seared into the memories of the firefighters who battled it.
In mid-afternoon on a blisteringly hot day in 1977, firefighters rushed to the Mitchell Manor Barracks, at Merrick Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike, after receiving word from a dispatcher of a rapidly spreading fire there. Temperatures that day rose above 90 degrees, and to make matters worse, the barracks¹ dry wood frame helped fuel the fire. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, flames were shooting out of nearly every window of one wing of the building, they recalled.
As the U-shaped structure weakened, East Meadow Fire Chief Williamson Henderson was forced to implement a plan to control the blaze from the outside. The tactics were dangerous, and at one point during the fire, firefighters were surrounded by flames. The sheer ferocity of the flames is what current Chief John O¹Brien still remembers to this day.
³The whole sky was completely dark, with billowing smoke,² recalled O¹Brien, who was an 18-year-old volunteer at the time. He likened the fire to a fast-igniting tinderbox. It took firefighters six hours to gain control of the blaze, and by day¹s end several men had been treated for heat exhaustion.
Although there were no permanent injuries, the heat from the building, coupled with the day¹s intense humidity, turned the immediate area into a virtual furnace. It didn¹t help, O¹Brien remembered, that engines of the time did not have the luxury of air conditioning, and captains had to make sure their men stayed hydrated.
Firefighter Gary Nauth, who was also 18 at the time, remembers the fire being an all-hands-on-deck engagement. On the day it happened, Nauth was making arrangements for his father¹s funeral, but he did not hesitate to hurry to help the department. Nauth says today that the fire was the benchmark of his career in fire service.
³The lights on Ladder 617 were melting from just the heat,² he recalled. ³The truck was parked 60 to 70 yards away from the building, and yet the flames were tremendous.²
The barracks were used for military housing during World War II, Nauth explained. (An assisted living complex has long since taken its place.) Although the cause of the fire was never determined and the remains of the building were disposed of, the memories of that firefight still burn white-hot 30 years later.
Hector Flores contributed to this story. Comments about it? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
