Nassau house fires displace occupants, dogs killed, fire marshal's office says

A house fire in West Hempstead on Tuesday displaced two occupants and claimed the lives of two dogs, and another in Jericho injured a pair of firefighters and forced a resident from the home, according to the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office.

The Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department received a 1:54 p.m. call regarding a fire at a two-story residence on Nassau Boulevard in West Hempstead, Capt. David Maickel of the fire marshal's office said in a news release. The two dogs inside the home died and its two occupants were displaced.

Nearly three hours later, the Jericho Fire Department responded to a 4:39 p.m. call for a blaze at a two-story home on Bounty Lane, Maickel said in a separate news release. The fire on the second floor "had extended through the roof" and caused "a partial collapse of the second floor." The home's occupant was displaced.

One firefighter at the Jericho call "was transported to the hospital with an eye injury" while another was treated at the scene for an unspecified injury, according to the release. The cause, nature and severity of both injuries were not immediately known.

The smoke alarms in both homes had activated. Additional information, including whether the occupants were home at the time of either fire or the extent of damage to the homes, was not immediately available.

The West Hempstead fire was under control within 30 minutes, while the Jericho blaze took an hour to control, Maickel said.

The Nassau Fire Marshal’s Office and the Nassau Police Department Arson/Bomb Squad are investigating the cause of both fires, Maickel said. 

Firefighters from West Hempstead, Garden City Park, Hempstead, Malverne, Uniondale and Valley Stream responded to the first fire, while those from Bethpage, Hicksville, Plainview, Syosset and Westbury responded to the second.