Elderly man, dog rescued in Plainview fire

Police and fire crews rescued an elderly man and his dog from a burning house in Plainview early Sunday morning.

Al Bassetta, second- assistant chief of the Plainview Fire Department, said a resident on Winthrop Road called 911 around 2:30 a.m. to report wires burning in a neighbor's backyard.

Nassau County police were the first to arrive at the scene, Bassetta said, and police rescued a man who had been asleep in a second-floor bedroom.

Meanwhile, as crews began tackling the flames that had started to consume the home's basement and kitchen, firefighters rescued the owner's dog.

The animal was found behind a television set in the burning house, and firefighters revived it by giving it oxygen, using a special mask molded to fit animals, before taking the pet to a veterinarian.

No one was injured, and the fire took about 45 minutes to control, Bassetta said.

There was no official word on the cause of the fire, he said.