Lakeview house catches fire twice in 1 day

A Lakeview home burned twice, once in the afternoon, then again in an evening blaze that required 150 firefighters to put it out.

The Nassau police arson squad and the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office said Monday that embers from the 1:30 p.m. fire on Sunday rekindled at about 11:30 p.m. at a Dekoven Street home.

But one Lakeview Fire Department official said the department has had a "back and forth" dialogue with investigators over the cause.

Lakeview Assistant Chief Heather Senti said fires that rekindle usually do so within three hours, not 10 hours later, and rekindled fires are usually less intense.

"We're still trying to find out whether it could possibly have been anything else," said Senti, who fought both blazes. There were no injuries.

When Lakeview firefighters first arrived at 1294 Dekoven St., outside garbage cans were burning outside at the front of the home, charring the building, Senti said. The flames in the high ranch spread to two bedrooms, she said, but about 55 firefighters from two departments had it under control half an hour later.

Then 10 hours later, at 11:30 p.m., flames erupted again, consuming the two bedrooms and the roof as Lakeview volunteers once again responded, Senti said. This time, 150 firefighters from four departments were needed to get the blaze under control, she said.

"We saw fire coming out of both front windows, the front roof and the fire extended almost 20 feet in the air," Senti said. "Looking at the fire load upon arrival, I don't see how it could just be a rekindle because of the extensive height of the flames, the intensity of the fire and the amount of fire."

Investigator Joseph Whittaker from the fire marshal's office said it's "very rare" for a second fire to break out so many hours later at the same spot.

He also said the night blaze was intense because flames reached an area that was not destroyed the first time: "The section that it burned was kind of in the attic area."

Investigators said the cause of the first fire is still under investigation.

Senti said firefighters had used several techniques to make sure all the sparks were out, including spraying the inside of the house with a "final washdown" of water.

"I was positive that we had extinguished the fire. We had used different technology, such as our thermal imaging camera, to check the beams and check the voids," Senti said. "We had come up with nothing."

Lakeview firefighters were assisted by Malverne and Rockville Centre firefighters in the first blaze. In the second one, those fire departments were joined by West Hempstead units.

"No one wants to return to a scene and think 'Could it have possibly been handled differently?' " Senti said. "We did the best job that we possibly could do."