Man contains backyard blaze with hose until firefighters arrive

Long Beach firefighters put out a fire outside an Atlantic Avenue house Sunday evening, after a collection of wood beneath the home’s deck stairs caught ablaze.

Fire officials said the fire spread to a nearby fence in the backyard and up the side of the house, but was extinguished quickly before causing any major damage. Long Beach Police arrived on the scene first at about 6 p.m., and the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office was later called to the scene for a routine investigation.

Exact cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Fire Chief RJ Tuccillo.

The homeowner, Walter Lynch, 52, was home with his wife and two teenage children when he saw the flames coming from underneath the stairs of his deck, where Lynch had stored firewood and a container of lawnmower gas.

“I don’t even know what I was thinking, I just tried to react,” said Lynch, who has lived in the house since 1971. “I ran right down the stairs right over the flames, and ran for my hose.”

Lynch contained the blaze as best he could until the firemen came, and said his family was lucky they arrived as quickly as they did. Nobody was injured, and though some of the stairs were destroyed, damage was minimal, Lynch said.

His wife, Maris, 46, lauded the police and fire departments for the quick response time, extinguishing the fire and keeping her and the family calm throughout the process.

“The Long Beach Fire Department and police department were absolutely outstanding,” said Maris. “…Thank God for my husband, because they said if he didn’t do what he did, we could have lost the house.”