Bright orange flames and thick black smoke could be seen on doorbell camera footage pouring out of a Long Island home and day care, with children inside around at the time the fire was sparked, according to officials.
The blaze broke out around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the home on 51st street in Lindenhurst. Officials said the house is also the location for Mama Rutty’s Day Care, located in the basement, where several children were when the fire erupted.
“Where were approximately five kids, and they had evacuated them prior to my arrival so they got them out pretty quickly, thankfully,” said Corey Finn, chief of the North Lindenhurst Volunteer Fire Department.
Video footage from a doorbell camera captured the urgency of neighbors screaming for people to get out quickly.
Much of the fire was concentrated around the front of the house. The flames were knocked down in about an hour, but not before the inferno tore through the home. The fire was made worse due to Wednesday morning’s strong wind gusts.
“The front of the house wasn’t very docile today. It was very windy and so attributed to the spread across the spread in front of the house,” said Finn.
The children at the day care were taken down the block to the home of a neighbor who tried to comfort the children, the youngest of whom is about a year old.
“I brought them in the rug was nice and warm. I brought them blankets around them,” said the neighbor, who said her name was Camille.
Despite the house getting destroyed, everyone inside the home when the flames broke out got out safely, with no injuries reported.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The fire department’s arson squad has launched an investigation.
