A fire ripped into a four-bedroom home at 920 Middle Neck Road on Thursday morning, resulting in one man being transported to a county hospital and two firefighters treated for “minor injuries.”
Great Neck Alert Fire Company Chief Steven Schwartz said the blaze, which broke out at 8:52 a.m., took about three hours to contain and drew help from multiple agencies.
Schwartz said a man home at the time was transported to Nassau County University Medical Center’s burn unit.
“He had been singed,” Schwartz said.
Mike Uttaro, an assistant deputy chief with the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office, said on Friday that the individual, who had to be airlifted, is still being treated for “critical burns.”
A fallen beam also hit a firefighter in the head and another required stitches due to an incident with a hydrant wrench, Schwartz said, “but they have been released.”
Schwartz said the home is now uninhabitable.
The cause of the blaze is unclear at this time.
“The fire is still under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious,” Uttaro said, adding that they haven’t been able to speak with the individual yet, which is “one of the key elements of any investigation.”
When asked about the number of fires the company has responded to this year, Schwartz said this was the eighth call to require multiple departments to respond within 10 months – which might be a “record.”
Uttaro said that between late October and March, fires tend to increase because of electrical or heating issues.
Both Schwartz and Uttaro emphasized the importance of fire safety and residents having functioning smoke detectors in their homes.
Agencies on scene included the Alert, Vigilant, Port Washington, Plandome, New Hyde Park and Manhasset-Lakeville fire departments, the Kings Point and Nassau County police departments, the Nassau County Fire Marshals, Nassau County Arson and Bomb Squad, PSE&G, National Grid, the Great Neck Water Authority, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
