Official: Fire destroys Deer Park home, family escapes

A major house fire destroyed a home in Deer Park Tuesday, as four volunteer firefighters suffered bumps and bruises before the blaze could be extinguished, a fire official said.

>>VIDEO: Click here to see footage from the blaze

Deer Park Fire Chief Tom Richardson said the fire that left a family of four homeless was a big one, adding: "We haven't had one like that in a while ... Thank God."

A 911 call reported the fire on West Second Street at 6:56 p.m., Richardson said. He told Newsday the first units were on the scene at 7:01 p.m. - but the home was already fully engulfed. "We had a heavy volume of fire on arrival," he said. "Cellar, first floor, second floor ... It was a bad one."

Volunteers from Deer Park, North Babylon and Wyandanch battled the blaze, which was finally brought under control at about 8:30 p.m., Richardson said. But, he said, firefighters could not save the home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but is not considered to be suspicious.

Richardson said the family of four escaped unharmed.

He said four volunteers suffered minor injuries, mostly contusions and abrasions from slipping on ice as water froze in the frigid conditions.