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Firefighters battle a house fire on East Raymond Avenue in Roosevelt...

Firefighters battle a house fire on East Raymond Avenue in Roosevelt on Friday morning. Credit: Lou Minutoli


A house fire in Roosevelt Friday morning left a female occupant in critical condition and a man with serious injuries, Nassau fire officials said.

Officers from the Nassau Police Department's First Precinct and members of the Roosevelt and Uniondale volunteer fire departments helped rescue the 82-year-old woman, who was taken out through a window of the East Raymond Avenue home, officials said.

The blaze was reported shortly before 9 a.m., Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said.

Nassau police said officers used the department's newly issued "dynamic entry breaching sledge" to break the rear house wall to remove the woman.

"They did a phenomenal job, under heavy fire conditions, and were able to get her out of the rear of the house," Uttaro said.

A 79-year-old male resident was found outside of the home when police and fire officials arrived, authorities said. No one else was inside.

Both victims were taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow and treated for smoke inhalation. The man was listed in stable condition while the woman was in critical, police said.

Two neighbors — an adult and child — inhaled smoke but declined treatment, while a First Precinct officer was treated at the hospital for leg injuries, Uttaro and police said.

In total, nine area fire departments responded to the blaze, which was extinguished within 90 minutes, officials said.

The fire caused extensive damage to the home. Chief Jessica Ellerbe of the Uniondale Fire Department said that when her team arrived the fire was "blowing out of all windows."

"[The occupants] were very lucky we got in there right away," she said.

The blaze  spread to a neighboring structure, causing minor damage there, officials said.

The fire's cause appeared to be accidental and linked to an electrical issue, Uttaro said.

The Nassau Police Department's Arson Bomb Squad was investigating.

With Jim Staubitser

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