East Meadow house engulfed in fire

A vacant house stuffed with debris in East Meadow burned so fiercely 100 firefighters from five departments could not save it Christmas night.

Firefighters responded to a call at 7:27 p.m., said Chief David Marschall, of the North Bellmore Fire Department. But by the time they arrived, the house at 2563 Tonquin St., near the intersection with Midvale Avenue was consumed by fire, with flames shooting 40 feet into the night sky.

It took firefighters 25 minutes to get the fire under control, Marschall said. He added that once it was established the house was unoccupied, there was little that could be done to save it. Efforts then focused on containing the blaze, he said.

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Earlier, a fire department dispatcher, said at least six fire trucks had responded to the blaze. "It's fully engaged from all sides," the official said.

A neighbor, Phil Wakefield, said the house had gone into foreclosure recently. He described the former owner as a man in his 60s who also owns the property adjacent to the house that burned last night. The man had resided in the adjacent property, Wakefield said.

Marschall and two neighbors said there had been a minor fire last week at the adjacent property.

Fire marshalls were at the scene to determine the cause of last night's fire, Marschall said.