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A Few Clouds Firefighters battle West End blaze
Fire may have been caused by someone living in attic of vacant Sandy-damaged home
The Long Beach Fire Department responded to a fire at 48 New Hampshire St. on Friday morning following a report of smoke coming from the home.
The gutted house was vacant and without electricity due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, and had been undergoing repairs. Fire Chief Rich Corbett said that the department received the call at 7:41 a.m. and about 20 firefighters arrived on the scene to find smoke coming from the second-floor attic. The blaze was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.
“The whole thing was under control within 30 minutes,” Corbett said.
However, Corbett said that although the home was vacant, it appeared that someone had been living in the attic.
“It appeared to have been a mattress fire — it burned through the floors and there was some minor damage,” Corbett said. “Even though the house was unoccupied, it appeared someone was living in it.”
Corbett declined to speculate whether or not the occupant could have been a squatter. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Nassau County Fire Marshal.
Corbett said that firefighters have responded to a number of electrical fires since the storm, as many homeowners repair or rebuild their homes.
“We’ve seen little fires popping up,” Corbett said. “If you’re going to do some work on your house, you should definitely have an electrician check it out.”
