Woman escapes house fire in Elmont

An Elmont woman jumped from a second-floor porch ledge into the arms of her husband and an emergency services volunteer Friday night to escape the flames of her burning home, officials said.

The woman, who is unidentified, and an Elmont firefighter were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries, Elmont Fire Chief James Prince said.

The fire on Gotham Avenue was reported about 8 p.m., Prince said.

"Two people were home," he said. "I was there in a matter of minutes but a female EMS lives around the block" and got there first.

When that emergency medical services volunteer from his department arrived, she found that a male resident had gotten outside on his own, but his wife was still on the second floor of the burning building, Prince said. "She had to jump off that roof," into the arms of her husband and the volunteer, a distance he said was about 12 feet.

The woman suffered only minor smoke inhalation, he said.

About 80 firefighters from four departments extinguished the fire after about an hour, but the building sustained heavy damage, Prince said. There was also some charring of a home about 15 feet away, he said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, Prince said, and under investigation by the fire marshal's office and the Nassau County arson squad.

Prince declined to release the name of the Elmont Fire department EMS volunteer who normally would not be involved in actual fire rescue, because he has not had a chance to speak with her yet. "But she did the right thing," Prince said. "I'll tell you that."