Electrical fire damages priest's bedroom at Garden City church rectory, officials say

An accidental electrical fire Thursday morning caused extensive damage to a priest's bedroom in the rectory of the St. Anne's Parish Church in Garden City, a Nassau County fire official said.

No one was injured -- and fast work by responding firefighters contained the blaze, officials said.

Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael F. Uttaro said a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the rectory -- and notified officials at about 7:30 a.m. Uttaro said the pastoral staff was elsewhere in the rectory, a stand-alone building, and were unaware of the fire.

Uttaro said there was extensive water and smoke damage to the room of origin, but said: "The fire departments did a great job, held it to that room."

He said the fire started when a small appliance malfunctioned, causing the blaze.

Responders included members from Garden City, Garden City Park, Franklin Square, New Hyde Park, Mineola, Stewart Manor and Westbury, officials said. Garden City police also responded and said there were no reported injuries.

The church is located on Dartmouth Street. Church officials were not immediately available for comment.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”