Island Park auto shop damaged in fire

An Island Park auto shop was heavily damaged Wednesday afternoon when a fire broke out, authorities said.

The Island Park Fire Department received a 911 call at 1:06 p.m. reporting the fire at Mean Street Custom Automotive, 4188 Austin Blvd., said Island Park Assistant Fire Chief Anthony D'Esposito, who is also the department's public information officer.

A few workers were in the shop working on a vehicle on a lift when the fire began, but they escaped by the time firefighters arrived and found a "heavy volume" of fire, said D'Esposito, who said the blaze was quickly extinguished. The Nassau County fire marshal is investigating.

"It may have started from a car that was up on a lift," D'Esposito said.

One worker and a firefighter were treated at the scene for "minor cuts and bruises," said Island Park Fire Chief Ed Madden.

Jen Leonetti, 25, who works at a solar contracting company nearby, said she smelled smoke and went outside to investigate.

"It just started smoking from all sides," said Leonetti, of the building. "Within like a couple of minutes, it started being inflamed."

Firefighters from Oceanside, Long Beach, Baldwin, Rockville Centre and Point Lookout responded, D'Esposito said.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.