House Fire Spreads to Neighboring Homes in Long Beach

* This story was updated at 7:31 a.m. on 1.25.14.

A fire broke out at an East End home early Friday morning and spread to neighboring homes and left one person injured.  

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At about 1:21 a.m., the Long Beach Fire Department received a call about a house fire at 522 E. Beech St., LBFD Commissioner Scott Kemins told Patch. Kemins said he arrived at the scene at 1:24 a.m. and found a working fire. At 1:26 a.m. he escalated it to a second-alarm fire, at which time the first fire truck, Engine 2343, arrive on the scene.

“The original fire building suffered extensive fire damage and was fully involved upon my arrival,” Kemins said.

Flames from the house soon spread to a home immediately to the west of it, at 518 E. Beech, and to the east, at 528 E. Beech. Kemins said the home at 518 sustained moderate fire damage to the exterior and the attic, and the home at 528 sustained moderate damage to the exterior.

Chief Antonio Cuevas said that early in the operation firefighters experienced pressure lose from the hydrants due to the extreme cold, making fighting the fire more difficult. “We relied on our mutual aid companies to come in and help augment our water situation,” Cuevas said. 

Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control at 3 a.m. and all operations were secured by 4:45 a.m., Kemins said. Assisting the LBFD were fire departments from Island Park, Point Lookout-Lido, Oceanside, Baldwin, Freeport, Lawrence-Cedarhurst, Inwood, Hewlett, Rockville Centre and East Rockaway.

“Once the main body of fire was knocked down our firefighters had an extreme amount of overhauling to do to make sure all fire was extinguished and there was no hidden pockets of fire,” Cuevas said.

The LBFD’s Facebook page states that fire operations were extremely difficult due to the cold weather, but residents in all three homes were evacuated safely.

“All three houses were occupied; everyone got out safely; the two adjoining homes were evacuated by the Long Beach Police Department,” Kemins said.

One LBFD firefighter suffered a shoulder injury and was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside.

The Nassau County Fire Marshals Office is investigating the cause of the fire.