2 Nassau fires leave residents homeless

Two morning apartment fires Monday in Valley Stream and Hempstead left residents homeless and sent others to hospitals for smoke inhalation.

The Valley Stream fire broke out about 4:47 a.m. at a North Central Avenue apartment building, Nassau police said.

Four firefighters, one police officer and at least one resident were treated at local hospitals and released, police and fire officials said. Thirteen people were displaced from their homes, police and fire officials said.

Two firefighters had what appeared to be minor injuries - a broken thumb and a sprained ankle, police said in a release.

More than 100 firefighters responded.

The fire is not considered suspicious, the Nassau County fire marshal's office said.

In Hempstead, a fire in a three-story Front Street apartment building broke out about 7:55 a.m., police said. No one was seriously injured, but some residents were treated for smoke inhalation at local hospitals, Nassau police and fire officials said.

The fire's cause was under investigation, police said. Most of the building's residents were permitted to re-enter in the afternoon.

Carlos Ruiz, who lives on the third floor of the Hempstead building, said his apartment was uninhabitable because of lingering smoke. He described the chaos of the morning in the rush to escape.

"We were asleep and suddenly we just had to get up and get out," Ruiz said in Spanish, translated by a relative. His family will live with friends until the air clears, he said.

With Gary Dymski