Firefighters rush to extinguish Birch Court blaze

Firefighters rushed to a fire in a two-floor apartment building on Birch Court at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Fire Chief Joe Miller said.

The fire started in the walls and ceiling between two bedrooms on the second floor and spread to an overhang on the outside of the building, Miller said.

The residents — a woman and her two children, 9 and 12 — were inside. They smelled smoke, attempted to put out the fire with an extinguisher and called 911, Miller said.

Long Beach Police officers entered the building and safely evacuated the residents. Firefighters arrived, quickly extinguished the fire and carried a pet rabbit out of the building to safety.

A police officer and the two children were taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside for smoke inhalation, Miller said, adding that the family would be temporarily displaced.

Nassau County Fire Marshals are investigating the fire, but Miller said the cause was “possibly electrical.”

Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours, he said, adding that they prevented the fire from spreading to nearby apartment buildings.