Firefighters respond to West End blaze

The Long Beach Fire Department responded to a house fire on the oceanfront between Arizona Avenue and Nebraska Street at 5:21 p.m. on Monday evening. Fire Chief RJ Tuccillo said that the cramped nature of the streets in the West End posed a problem for first responders, but that the blaze was extinguished in about 40 minutes.

“It wasn’t easy to get to, and the houses are literally only a foot-and-a-half apart so we were worried about exposure,” he said. “It was so tight between the houses that you couldn’t fit a person in there.”

Tuccillo added that the close proximity of the houses posed a threat because the flames could have easily spread to another home.

First arriving units found an exterior fire on the side of the structure that made its way into one room of the house via a window. According to Tuccillo, the occupant noticed the flames and called 911. He then began spraying the flames with his garden hose.

“It was a smart thing to do, but he didn’t realize the fire was within the walls too,” Tuccillo said. First responders had to tear down a section of the exterior wall to extinguish the fire.

Mutual aid units from Inwood, Lawrence Cedarhurst, Oceanside, Island Park and the Point Lookout-Lido Fire Departments, along with Atlantic Beach Rescue, responded to the scene as well. There were no reported injuries.

According to Tuccillo, the cause of the fire was most likely a discarded cigarette butt and the resident was reportedly a smoker, though he claimed not to have smoked that day.

“They’re guessing it was a cigarette for now,” Tuccillo said. “There was nothing malicious or any electrical issues. It could have even been a neighbor smoking.”

Because of the unique challenges posed by the narrow West End streets, which Tuccillo said are difficult to even bring fire trucks down, the fire department undergoes extensive pre-planning and drills to prepare for such circumstances.

Tuccillo also commended the cooperation among Long Beach firefighters battling the blaze, stressing that when it comes time to work there is no division between the volunteer and career firefighters.

“There’s one department, and if we didn’t work together as one department there would have been a lot more problems,” he said. “When it comes time to work, you set everything aside and do the job.”