West Hempstead, Lakeview Fight Massive Father's Day Fire

Firefighters from West Hempstead and Lakeview joined 11 other departments Father's Day evening to battle a massive fire at a Hempstead apartment complex.

The blaze was reported around 6:30 p.m. Sunday at a large apartment building located at 600 Fulton Avenue.

The fire was believed to have started in the kitchen area of a third-floor apartment and quickly spread to neighboring units. Twenty nine residents and one Hempstead Village Police Officer were removed to local hospitals and were treated for smoke inhalation. One Baldwin firefighter was treated for cardiac issues.

Three hundred firefighters with forty pieces of apparatus responded to the scene to extinguish the blaze, which was placed under control around 8:30 p.m. However, the seven-story building suffered heavy damage.

Nearly 70 building occupants were evacuated, assisted by the Red Cross and transported by NICE Bus to Hempstead High School for temporary shelter.

The cause of the fire is deemed undetermined and non suspicious.

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