Hicksville fire heavily damages Halal Munchies restaurant, donut shop; 200 firefighters called to the scene

A decades-old Hicksville doughnut shop is shuttered after a smoky fire early Thursday heavily damaged a two-story commercial building that housed the business, authorities said.

Maria Kefalas said her family had operated the House of Donuts at the location since 1977 and "never in all of these years" had they experienced something like this. 

The fire was reported at 12:13 a.m. on Marie Street, just off Broadway and within blocks of the LIRR train station, in the building that also houses Halal Munchies, authorities said. The fire was first reported in the Halal restaurant's basement, said Nassau Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro.

The occupants had fled the building when firefighters arrived, police said.

Kefalas said her family was at home when they learned about the fire around 3:30 a.m. and "we ran outside. We came here fast."

"Everywhere police, fire trucks, broken windows. It was scary. The first feeling was bad," she told Newsday about the scene when they arrived. "The fire departments came here from everywhere." 

Members of the Hicksville Fire Department, confronting heavy smoke pouring from the building, were assisted by firefighters from Locust Valley, Mineola, Plainview, North Bellmore, Syosset, Levittown and East Meadow, said Bohdan J. Pilczak, Nassau assistant chief fire marshal. He called the blaze a "fourth alarm."

About 200 firefighters worked for 2 ½ hours before bringing the blaze under control, authorities said.

One firefighter was treated for minor injuries at the scene, authorities said.

The Halal restaurant and several adjacent businesses suffered serious fire damage, Uttaro said. The Town of Oyster Bay Building Department will evaluate the condition of the building.

Kefalas doesn't yet know the full extent of the damage to her family's doughnut shop. She told Newsday "our place is not too bad inside" but added that "the basement is bad ... it's all destroyed."

 In a Thursday news release, the fire marshal's office wrote "there was an active natural gas leak that was a result of the fire and was not the cause of the fire." The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal's office and Nassau police, fire officials said. It is not considered suspicious, Uttaro said.

 Halal Munchies offered halal platters, sandwiches and salads, according to their website. The House of Donuts sold pastries made on the premises, coffee and breakfast food, according to its Instagram account. 

Newsday was unable to reach the Halal restaurant owners on Thursday.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.