Syosset family escapes house fire without injuries

Firefighters called to a blaze at a Syosset home early Sunday were able to rescue a jewelry box, a wedding album and a wallet but nothing else, as a family of five escaped uninjured, but in the end had just those few possessions.

The family, a couple and their three children, were sleeping when the father was awakened by popping noises and called the fire department at 5:17 a.m., Chief John Capobianco of the Syosset Fire Department said.

The fire started in the area of a back deck of the single family home on Wendy Road, he said. It took firefighters 21/2 hours to douse the blaze.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Nassau County fire marshal's office, the chief said. The family had two barbecue grills in the deck area, but said they hadn't used them recently, he said.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with symptoms of hypotension, or low blood pressure, and was treated and released, Capobianco said. There were no other injuries.

The Syosset department sent three engines and two ladder trucks, and six other community fire departments helped out in a mutual aid arrangement to relieve the Syosset firefighters, he said.