High winds spark house fire

A home in the canals section of Long Beach caught fire last week after winds sparked an electrical-based blaze.

With wind gusts up to 40-miles-per-hour on Oct. 7, overhead LIPA electrical wires outside a Vinton Street home got tangled up and caused a back feed of power that surged into the house, setting its interior electrical panel on fire at about 3 p.m., according to Scott Kemins, deputy fire commissioner of the Long Beach Fire Department.

“The fire then extended into the kitchen wall and up to the attack,” Kemins said.

A resident who was home when the fire started had smelled smoke and called the Long Beach Fire Department, who on arrival upgrade the call to a general alarm fire.

The fire was contained to the kitchen and attic, and no injuries were reported. “It was a very simple fire,” Kemins said.

The Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department provided a ladder truck to the scene, and Oceanside and Island Park fire departments were on standby.

Kemins noted that due to the high winds that day, there were about a thousand power outages throughout Long Island.