Approximately two hours after he and his family escaped a fire at their Valley Lane home, Hicksville resident Tom Falkenthal came to the assistance of two car accident victims on Jerusalem Avenue.

At around 3 a.m. Monday, April 30, the Hicksville Fire Department received a call via firecom for a house fire. Upon arrival, department members, under the command of Chief Robert Chiz, found a fully involved fire in the home's attached garage. Falkenthal, his grandmother, wife, daughter and the family's dog were asleep inside the home at the time of the fire. All escaped safely.

About two hours later, fire department personnel finishing up at the Valley Lane home received the alarm with an overturned auto around the corner from the fire scene. Upon arrival at Jerusalem Avenue and Winding Road, firefighters found homeowner Falkenthal and his brother-in-law had helped get the driver out of the overturned vehicle and a woman out of her vehicle, which was leaking gasoline.

The driver of the overturned vehicle was not seriously injured and was transported to an area hospital by fire department ambulance. The cause of the house fire is still under investigation, however, it is not considered suspicious.