'There's nothing left after this': Multiple businesses destroyed in Hicksville fire
200 firefighters from eight different departments responded to the two-story building.
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Six businesses in Nassau County were severely damaged in an early morning four-alarm fire.
The Nassau County Fire Marshal's office said the fire started in the basement of Halal Munchies at 5 Marie St. at the corner of Broadway in Hicksville around 12:30 a.m.
Workers said the store was open when the fire began and the only two people inside were workers.
"We recently opened up, we're thinking it's going to go well, but unfortunately, this happened," Halal Munchies worker Bash Khan said. "What can we do?"
Crews had to pull back after the first floor of the two-week-old business partially collapsed.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries but was treated at the scene and released.
“It was a very stubborn and hard-to-get-to fire," Hicksville Fire Chief Joseph DiFronzo said.
Officials said the fire quickly spread from Halal Munchies to House of Donuts next door. Neighbors, including the South Asian Times, Gupta Tax & Accounting, Print Early and Chic Couture by Farah also suffered fire, smoke and water damage.
The Long Island Abundant Life Church had minor water and smoke damage but fire officials said a fire wall between the church and restaurants prevented much more significant damage.
"It could've been a lot worse," DiFronzo said. "I could've lost the whole row of stores."
House of Donuts, a Long Island institution that had been around since the 1970s, was left in ruins.
Husband and wife owners Maria and Nicholas Kefalas stood by the shell of their burnt-out eatery with tears in their eyes.
"I'm there seven days a week, all my life," Maria said. "My husband has been there since 1977."
"My whole life and all of a sudden, there's nothing left after this," Nicholas said. "I hope to be back soon."
Around 200 firefighters from eight departments, including Hicksville, Locust Valley, Mineola, Plainview, North Bellmore, Syosset, Levittown and East Meadow, responded. The Nassau County Fire Marshal Drone Team was deployed to assist.
DiFronzo and Khan both said a gas leak in the basement may have sparked the fire though the official cause is under investigation by the Nassau County Fire Marshal and Police Arson/Bomb Squad.
