A 51-year-old man died and two men were injured in an early morning fire on Thursday in a building at 1217 Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park, according to Nassau County Police officials.
The police said the man who died in a second floor apartment above the Angry Gnome Pub had not yet been identified.
Members of the New Hyde Park Fire Department rescued the other two residents from the fire that broke out at approximately 6 a.m., according to New Hyde Park Fire Department Chief Robert Von Werne, who said units of the New Hyde Park volunteers responded immediately and rescued two residents from second floor apartments who were transported to the hospital with injuries.
Flames were shooting through the roof of the building when they arrived at the scene, alerted by an occupant who pulled a nearby fire alarm box. New Hyde Park firemen extinguished the flames by 7:45 a.m.. They were assisted by units of the Floral Park, Mineola, Manhasset-Lakeville and Hicksville Fire Departments.
The fire originated on the second floor of the residential and commercial building, but the cause was undetermined, Von Werne said.
Commercial businesses on the first floor of the building, including the pub, suffered damage from the fire.
“We don’t know the cause at this point,” Von Werne said.
He said a county fire marshal was on the scene investigating the origin of the early morning blaze.
Traffic was temporarily halted along Jericho Turnpike in both directions a few blocks east of the New Hyde Park Village Hall as the firemen continued to assess the situation.
