Fire breaks out at North Shore University Hospital-Northwell Health construction site, Nassau police say

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an overnight fire at a construction site adjacent to North Shore University Hospital-Northwell Health that also forced the brief closure of Community Drive in Manhasset Thursday.

The road, which had been closed between Northern Boulevard and the north service road of the Long Island Expressay, was reopened at 5:19 a.m., Nassau police said.

The fire, which police said was at a site on the hospital property, was reported in a 911 call at 12:49 a.m. and police said responding officers and firefighters found "a section of the property which was under construction" ablaze.

The fire was extinguished by firefighters from Manhasset-Lakeville and other nearby departments, police said.

The construction site was unoccupied at the time and there were no reported injuries, police said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Arson Bomb Squad detectives and investigators from the Nassau Fire Marshal's Office.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”