Long Beach fire: Firefighters battle blaze at Whitbread Lumber

More than 150 firefighters from Long Beach and neighboring departments battled a blaze late Saturday morning at a century-old lumber yard on Magnolia Boulevard.

Working against strong winds, the firefighters spent 90 minutes extinguishing the flames at Whitbread Lumber, where employees were working when the fire erupted shortly before 11 a.m. The lumber yard staff was able to get out safely, but two firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries, said Long Beach Fire Chief Scott Kemins.

“We had fire blowing out the side of the building, heavy fire,” said Kemins, a 40-year veteran firefighter. “But we quickly got water on it.”

The chief said a number of factors made it a challenging fire to fight, including the age of the wood-framed building and its contents — a lumber yard with combustible materials.

Nearly an hour after the fire was extinguished, dozens of firefighters remained on scene, clearing equipment as a drone flew overhead searching for hot spots.

PSEG Long Island reported that 350 customers in the immediate area of the fire were without power Saturday afternoon. That number fell throughout the afternoon, according to the utility's online outage map. 

The lumber yard is located next to the Long Beach city community center and ice rink and in close proximity to homes. Several blocks were temporarily closed off to traffic.

Neighbor Max Medwed was watching his two young children inside his house across the street when he heard a “loud bang.” He looked outside to see a downed power line over the roof of the lumber yard.

“There was a big flame coming from where the downed power line was,” Medwed said. “About five minutes later I saw a lot of smoke started blowing out of the roof.”

Kemins said the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office and Bomb Squad.

The Whitbread family has owned and operated the business since 1917, according to the company website. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.