Heavy Flames Tear Through Malverne Home

A Malverne woman escaped from a fire inside her home Sunday night thanks to the quick reaction of her neighbor.

The man spotted flames coming out of the back of the house on Scarcliffe Drive around 8:30 p.m., alerted the homeowner and helped her evacuate, along with her pets.

"Thank goodness that he saw the fire and got her out of the house," Malverne Fire Chief Scott Edwards told Patch. "Unfortunately, there is tremendous loss to the home."

Edwards explained that when the first firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw heavy flames coming from the back of the home on the first floor. Roughly 75 firefighters from seven departments - Malverne, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Elmont, Valley Stream and Franklin Square - helped to battle the blaze. (Hempstead and East Rockaway were on stand-by.)

"We had it under control within about 30 minutes," Edwards added.

The Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Malverne Police also responded to the scene.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury when debris got in his eye, but was treated at the scene and released. No one else was hurt.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal and Arson and Bomb Squad were both brought in to do an investigation and will try to determine the cause of the fire.

Stay with Patch for more developments. Click through the gallery above to see photos of the fire.