On Monday, December 8, 2003, the Lynbrook Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at approximately 4:30 AM at  24 Lafayette Street off of Lakeview Avenue.  The temperature was about 20 degrees at the time of the call.  Lynbrook police officers were first on the scene and escorted the single occupant from the home to a neighbor's house as the fire department arrived. 

The fire department under the command of First Deputy Chief David Pearsall responded to the call and found the second floor front bedroom ablaze.  Chief Pearsall immediately broadcast a "Signal 10" for a working fire.   The first fire truck on the scene was Vulcan Company, followed by Truck Company and then Tally-Ho Company.  Vulcan Company stretched an attack line to the second floor where firefighters were met with heavy smoke and heat.  At the same time Truck Company laddered the home while Tally-Ho brought a second hose line into the house for back-up.   The Floodlight Unit arrived on the scene and raised its light towers to light up the street.  It also set up its command post operation.  The other fire companies stood by to supply manpower if needed. 

When firefighters got to the second floor they had to crawl their way across the floor to the front bedroom due to the heavy smoke and heat.  The smoke was so heavy that they could not see what was in front of them as they crawled towards the burning bedroom.  As they crawled they were additionally hampered by a lot ot storage that blocked their way on the upstair's floor.    When firefighters finally reached the front unoccupied bedroom they found a bed fully involved in fire.   The fire however was quickly knocked down with the one hose line and the bed and mattress were taken out the front window.  Truck Company then did an overhaul and checked that the fire had not spread to the roof or other parts of the house.  Because of the quick attack by the firefighters the fire did not spread beyond the bed.  

Chief Pearsall praised the quick action by the firefighters that stopped the spread of the fire before it consumed other parts of the home.  He also said that the fire is not suspicious and it is believed it may have been caused by an electrical short in the bedroom.  Firefighters were at the scene for about an hour and none were reported injured fighting the blaze.