Fire damages Williston Park apartment

A fire badly damaged an apartment unit at the Williston House Apartments on Willis Avenue Wednesday afternoon, Nassau police said.

A 90-year-old resident of the apartment who was there at the time was able to leave the apartment on her own after the fire erupted, police said, and there were no injuries.

The apartment resident said she had just changed a lightbulb in a bedroom lamp, and left the room, police said, but when she returned, a fire from the lamp had ignited the bedroom curtains.

About 70 firefighters from Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola and Albertson fire departments responded about 1:25 p.m., police said, and extinguished the fire, which had fully engulfed the apartment.

Detectives from the police arson/bomb squad investigated and said the fire was accidental.