By Jeff Lipton
The victim, whose identity was being withheld by officials at press time, suffered severe smoke inhalation and minor burns on his hands, and was taken to Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow for treatment, officials said. ³The injuries he suffered were serious, but not life-threatening,² said Vincent McManus, a division supervisor with the Nassau County Fire Marshal¹s office.
The fire broke out shortly before 5:30 a.m. in the back bedroom of the victim¹s upstairs apartment in a two-story home at 36 Parma Road, according to McManus. The cause was under investigation by the fire marshal as well as the Nassau County Police Department¹s Arson/Bomb Squad, but it was not believed to be suspicious.
³At this point, there¹s nothing suspicious about it,² said McManus. ³We wanted to speak to the victim further about it, but he was still being treated for his injuries.²
The wounded man, who was alone in his apartment at the time, managed to escape the burning building. The occupants of the first-floor apartment may have been out of state, officials said. The owner of the home, who does not live there, rents out both the upstairs and downstairs apartments.
The fire quickly spread to another second-floor bedroom and traveled down a hallway to the upstairs living room and a kitchen, McManus explained, describing the second-floor damage as ³considerable² and added that second-floor apartment is now uninhabitable.
The Island Park Fire Department, assisted by the Long Beach Fire Department, battled the blaze for about an hour before bringing it under control. The chilly, windy conditions helped spread the fire, officials said. ³The fire department did a very good job,² McManus said. ³They faced some complications, including the wind factor.²
