House fire in Elmont leaves resident critical from smoke inhalation, injures 5 firefighters, 4 police officers, officials say

A house fire in Elmont left a homeowner in critical condition, injured five firefighters and sent four police officers to the hospital early Saturday morning, Nassau County authorities said.

The fire broke out at a home on Norfeld Boulevard around 2 a.m. About 120 firefighters from nearly a dozen agencies responded to a 911 call about the fire, according to a Nassau fire news release, which said the building sustained serious damage. Nassau police also responded.

 A 77-year-old female homeowner was in critical condition after being transported to Nassau University Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation, officials said.

The injured woman "is improving in the hospital," Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Mike Uttaro said via text message on Tuesday. He added that her prognosis is "quite good for a full recovery."

Uttaro also said that Elmont Fire Department assistant chief Mike Santina "selflessly entered the fully involved house and immediately found the unconscious woman," who had "collapsed behind the front door and was unable to get out."

"He deserved acknowledgment for this brave actions [that] morning," Uttaro said of Santina. 

Police officers also helped rescue the woman, according to a police news release. Four officers were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Five Elmont Fire Department personnel also were injured when the second floor of the home partly collapsed while they were working to extinguish the fire. Three of them were treated on scene, while two were taken to a hospital for minor injuries, according to the fire news release.

The Elmont Fire Department was the first to respond to the scene, and was later joined by firefighters from 11 different agencies, including Floral Park and Lakeview.

Nassau County fire marshals and the police department were investigating the cause of the fire.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.