Fire and gas explosion severely damage Glen Head home, police say

A fire and gas explosion severely damaged a Glen Head house on Thursday evening, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The incident happened at 528 Cedar Swamp Road just before 6 p.m. and left the two-and-a-half story house with “substantial structural damage,” police and the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office said in separate news releases. The fire spread to three apartments within the house.

The affected residents were either not home or safely evacuated and no one was injured during the incident, according to officials.

About 50 firefighters with more then seven different departments responded to the scene and extinguished the fire within roughly 45 minutes, according to the fire marshal's office. The Glenwood Fire Department was the first to respond and was later joined by firefighters from Glen Cove, Roslyn, East Norwich, Oyster Bay, Locust Valley and Sea Cliff.

The fire marshal, the police Arson Bomb Squad and the Town of Oyster Bay also responded, according to police, who said "further investigation revealed a gas explosion had occurred."

A police spokesman declined to share additional details. It was not immediately clear how many residents were affected, what caused the fire and explosion and how extensive the building was damaged. 

Andrew Schmitt Jr., assistant chief fire marshal, wrote in a news release that there was "heavy fire damage to the house."

The arson bomb squad unit is continuing to investigate the incident, according to police.

The fire marshal's office and Glenwood Fire Department did not immediately respond to Newsday’s request for comment.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.