Story & photos by  Ex Captain Steven Grogan

Lynbrook firefighters saved the life of an unconscious woman after they broke down the door of her condominium apartment on Atlantic Avenue and pulled her from her smoke filled apartment after she left food burning on the stove.

At around 10 o’clock on the evening of September 3, 2009, the volunteers of the Lynbrook Fire Department were dispatched to the Coach Light Square Condominiums at 104-114 Atlantic Avenue for an automatic fire alarm activation.  Firefighters under the command of First Deputy Chief Raymond Burke arrived on the scene and immediately began a search of one of the five three-story condominium buildings on the property where the alarm was reported but where no fire was seen nor was any smoke showing.  Firefighters then went from floor to floor knocking on doors and searching for any visible fire or smoke.  But, none was found. 

After the automatic fire alarm was re-set, it activated again, and firefighters began another search of the building.  Third Deputy Chief Anthony DeCarlo was taking another look on the second floor of the building when he noticed a slight haze near one of the ceiling lights in the hallway.  He looked around at the nearby apartments again and thought he saw a little smoke near one particular apartment. 

Deputy Chief DeCarlo immediately began banging on the apartment door but got no response.  He then ordered members of Rescue, Hook and Ladder Company, who were carrying forcible entry tools, to come to his location and break down the door.  Ex-Captain John Woodard arrived and forced open the door.  A dark wall of heavy smoke met the firefighters who carefully made their way into the smoke filled apartment.  As they made their way through the smoke, Ex-Captain Woodard came upon the unconscious woman lying on the living room couch.  The firefighters quickly helped her up and carried her out of the apartment.  She was fully revived once they got her out into the fresh air.  A few more minutes and she would have succumbed to smoke inhalation. 

The firefighters found a red hot frying pan on the stove with burn’t food and the gas still on.  The woman allegedly had food cooking on the stove for some time and had fallen asleep.  The sealed apartment had kept the smoke inside. 

Once the woman was carried out of her apartment she was turned over to members of the department’s Emergency Medical Company who provided her with oxygen while she recovered.  The now conscious woman was then transported by the Medical Company to the hospital.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office was called and they responded to the scene to conduct a routine investigation.  There were no other injuries.  Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour.

Lynbrook Fire Chief Kevin Bien praised the determination of the volunteers to locate the cause of the sounded alarm and for their rescue of the apartment’s occupant.