Overloaded extension cord causes Elmont house fire

A fire occurred in Elmont on Friday, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. According to Elmont Fire Department Arson/Bomb Squad detectives, the department responded to a call for a fire at the home, at 10 Gotham Ave. in Elmont, at 8 p.m., and the house was fully engulfed in flames upon their arrival.

Mike Capoziello, the Elmont Fire Department’s first assistant chief, said a 45-year-old female resident, who lived in the house, climbed out of a second-floor window shortly after the fire started. The woman sat on the roof of the home for several minutes, until she was convinced to jump down from the roof to safety by Lisa Johnston, a local EMT who was driving by the home with her family, and stopped when she saw the fire. Capoziello said the fire was coming out of the windows on the second floor of the home when the woman was on the roof, and she was taken to an area hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

By 8:05 p.m., three fire departments were on scene to back-up Elmont’s department — the Floral Park, Malverne and Valley Stream fire departments — and a total of 70 firefighters were on the scene. David Ragusa, an Elmont Fire Department firefighter, said the firemen were hindered by live power lines, which fell due to the fire and high winds. Ragusa said one firefighter and a resident received non-life threatening injuries, and were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal and Nassau County Police Department said the fire was accidental, and was caused by an overloaded extension cord plugged into a space heater.

Capoziello said the damage to the home was extensive. The entire home was damaged by the fire, including the basement, and the second floor was completely demolished, he said.