Massapequa Fire Department Stands Tall in Face of Difficult Odds

On Monday night, as the worst of the storm was coming into the area, members of Massapequa's all volunteer Fire Department were in the thick of it battling a blaze on Hamilton Avenue. 

"They were chest deep in water," said Massapequa Fire Chied Stephen Daresta.  "My guys went above and beyond."

This has been far from your average work week for Massapequa's bravest. In a 48 hour period from Tuesday until Thursday, they've received more than 50 calls.

Many of the calls were from jittery residents who've been without power for days, but some of the calls are very real.

After dealing with several fires at the height of the storm, Massapequa dealt with two working fires on Thursday night into Friday morning.

The first one on Shoreham Road, was confined two one room and knocked down quickly.

"It looks like LIPA turned the power back on," Daresta said of the Shoreham  Road fire. "The family was on vacation."

The owners of the home on Denise Street, where the other blaze broke out, weren't as lucky.

"The damage was extensive," Daresta said.

Despite the challenges of keeping things running smooth under such extreme conditions, Daresta said they're doing well with resources.

It helped that several fire crews from areas in upstate New York who manned area fire houses for a while  members of the Massapequa Department got some rest.

But even that didn't last long enough as Daresta said he had to call members back in early because of the volume of calls.

The upstate crews were set to go back home this weekend, but Daresta said that a network of nearby Nassau County Departments that are powered up, will be available to offer aid if necessary.

Daresta advises residents to exercise extreme caution when the power does come back on.

"Wiring might be damaged or wet," he said, advising residents to shut their main power switch down for safety. 

If there appears to be a problem, he advises consulting an electrician.