Fire chief: Floral Park fire finally extinguished after over a day of efforts

The chief says a high expansion foam was brought in to tackle the hotspots Tuesday, which finally completely put out the fire.

Thema Ponton

Apr 18, 2023, 9:32 AM

Updated 618 days ago

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The Floral Park fire that damaged several businesses and hurt several firefighters is finally out, according to the village fire chief.
Floral Park Fire Chief James Dodson says it took more than a day to fully extinguish the fire. He says there were multiple hotspots downstairs that firefighters couldn't get to because floors had collapsed.
The chief says a high expansion foam was brought in to tackle the hotspots Tuesday, which finally completely put out the fire.
Nassau fire officials say the fire started in the basement of 266 Jericho Turnpike Monday around 11 a.m. The building houses an acupuncturist and a travel agency on the first floor.
The second floor of the building also has business suites. More than 125 firefighters were on the scene.
During the response, officials said that a Floral Park firetruck struck a pillar near the Long Island Rail Road overpass on Tulip Avenue. Two firefighters were injured, one of them was taken to the hospital.
At the scene, three firefighters were injured. Two of them were treated at the scene for exhaustion.
All of the occupants of the building were able to get out safely on their own.
"This could have been a lot worse," Dodson says. "I'm just thankful that nobody got hurt. That's our goal, to bring everybody home safely, we were able to do that and we were able to minimize the damage to one commercial occupancy."
Power was shut off to most of the businesses nearby on Jericho Turnpike.
Fire officials say it's too early to determine the cause of the fire.
The Floral Park Village Building Department will assess the damage and determine if the building is a total loss.
Dodson says once all the debris is taken away, a fence will be put up to protect the public.
The Nassau County fire marshal says the fire is not considered suspicious.