Fire Guts Syosset Home Sunday Morning

A Syosset home was gutted Sunday morning by a fire that required numerous departments to bring under control.

Volunteers from Oyster Bay, East Norwich, Plainview, Jericho, Bethpage and Hicksville assisted the Syosset Fire Department with the blaze, which apparently started on the back deck. Firefighters received the first call at 5:18 a.m. and responded to the scene at 9 Wendy Rd. The fire was officially declared under control at 6:48 a.m. According to a Nassau County Police Department report approximately 80 firefighters responded.  

"It was a major fire, going through the roof," Syosset Fire Department Chief John Capobianco said. "We had to bring in some other crews to give our guys some relief. They were really taking a beating."

As one firefighter said, after the blaze the two-story home was like a movie set, with the front frame still up but the back of the house completely collapsed. The Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office was investigating the fire as of 8 a.m., but the investigation may have been complicated by the fact that the collapsed portions of the house were still unstable.

Two adults and two children, ages 3 and 6, were in the house, but all got out unharmed. One Syosset firefighter suffered a case of hypotension (low blood pressure) while fighting the fire, but was taken back to the department and was said to be fine.

A woman neighbors confirmed as one of the homeowners was sitting on the steps of a nearby house, wiping away tears between trying to wipe soot off of some photos. 

When Syosset Patch returned to the scene at 10:30 a.m., the homeowner said she didn't know what caused the fire. A Nassau County police officer said the fire marshal had left the scene and that the cause was still unknown. The Nassau County Police Department Arson/Bomb Squad is also part of the investigation.