Blaze from discarded fireworks leads to Hicksville restaurant damage, officials say

Burning fireworks discarded in a dumpster set off a propane tank that caused a gas main fire and damaged a Hicksville restaurant, Nassau officials said Tuesday.

Some individuals, shortly after midnight Tuesday, had set fireworks off in the parking lot of the Lotus Asian Fusion Restaurant, which "the business owner, being conscientious, asked the employees to clean up," said James Hickman, a Nassau County assistant chief fire marshal. "Unfortunately, some of the fireworks were still hot and started a fire."

Two fire departments, Westbury and Hicksville, "did a phenomenal job putting a quick stop to it," Hickman said. 

One firefighter, who had battled the blaze on the restaurant roof, declined medical treatment. "His leg went through the roof but he was OK," Hickman said.

The restaurant is closed Tuesdays, according to its website, and the owner could not be reached.

The fire is being investigated by the county fire marshal and the arson bomb squad.