Williston Park house fire kills 1; 7 others escape, official says

One woman was killed and seven other members of the same family were hospitalized with smoke inhalation after a ferocious blaze swept through a home in Williston Park early Tuesday, Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael F. Uttaro said.

The victim of the fire, Uttaro said, went back into the home in search of a dog who also perished in the blaze.

"It was very compassionate but it cost [the victim] her life," Uttaro said.

Efforts to reach the victim's family Monday were not successful.

The fire at the five-bedroom split-level home on Lafayette Street was reported in a 911 call at 3:03 a.m., and the first responding firefighters from the Garden City Park Fire Department arrived to find the house “fully involved,” Uttaro said. 

The seven members of the family who survived, all between the ages of 21 and 60, managed to evacuate before the arrival of firefighters and Nassau County police — and they reported one woman missing in the home, he said.

“Nassau County police and firefighters attempted to make entry to the home in a search for the missing woman,” Uttaro said. “But it was too much and they were turned back. It was just a very heavy fire condition.”

Neighbor Bipin Parikh described himself as close friends with the victim and her family.

"It was painful," he said of learning of the fire. "Really painful for my family and even my neighbors."

The seven survivors were all taken to hospitals — four to Long Island Jewish Medical Center-Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, three to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow — suffering from what Uttaro described as “minor-to-moderate smoke inhalation injuries.”

They are listed in stable condition, Nassau County police said.

Uttaro said none of those injuries were believed serious — and said several of the injured were treated and released.

It took about 90 minutes for more than 60 firefighters from nine Nassau departments to bring the fire under control, Uttaro said. Shortly after 7 a.m., officials said they found a deceased woman inside the home.

The responding departments were: Garden City Park, Garden City, New Hyde Park, Mineola, Williston Park, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Floral Park and South Floral Park. There were no reported injuries to firefighters.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious.

With Steve Langford