Christmas Blaze Destroys NY Fire Station, Three Apparatus

Dec. 25, 2019
The fire chief was able to drive an ambulance out of the burning North Massapequa fire headquarters Christmas morning.

A Long Island firehouse erupted in flames on Christmas morning — and 13 nearby fire departments were needed to put out the blaze.

The North Massapequa firehouse was “engulfed in flames" at 6:15 a.m., the Fire Department said in a release. Two engines, a ladder truck and an ambulance were destroyed, North Massapequa Fire Department Chief Joseph Pesale said.

“This is something we do on a daily basis, to help everybody, and it happened to us,” Pesale told Newsday. “It hurts.”

The fire was not considered suspicious. No one was in the building when it caught fire.

First reponders were alerted to the fire by state Troopers. Three small explosions prevented the first firefighters on the scene, including Pesale, from removing the trucks from the firehouse, the Chief said. Still, the fire did not reach the main part of the firehouse.

A whopping 150 firefighters responded to the scene, one of whom suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

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©2019 New York Daily News

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