The Massapequa Fire Department, with the help of neighboring departments, spent nearly three hours last Friday night battling a blaze that tore through a building on Veteran's Boulevard and Hicksville Road, and rescued one trapped resident.

The building, according to Assistant Chief Steve Zimmerman, had a recording studio for musical artists on the first floor and several apartments upstairs. The fire, according to Zimmerman, began at approximately 11:15 p.m. and is thought to have begun on the first floor and spread to the second floor through the walls. Although it is still under investigation, the fire is believed to have been electrical in nature.

Zimmerman noted that when the Massapequa Fire Department arrived on the scene there was a heavy amount of fire, which progressed rapidly. With the assistance of the North Massapequa, Seaford, Wantagh, and Amityville Fire Departments, either on the scene or standing by in the Massapequa stations, the firefighters were finally able to get the fire under control at approximately 2:30 a.m. Mike Gange was the fire department chief in charge of the fire.

Although there was a considerable amount of damage to the entire building, and especially the second floor, no one was seriously injured. One man was upstairs sleeping at the time of the fire and by the time he woke up there was so much smoke he became disoriented. According to Zimmerman, the firefighters had to force his door open and carry him out to the street. The department's rescue crew transported him to Brunswick Hospital where he was treated and released. Other occupants in the building were able to get out on their own before the firefighters arrived. One member of the fire department was treated for exhaustion at the scene.

"Being that it appears to be electrical, we don't have many large commercial buildings with heavy fire like that on arrival," said Zimmerman. "It's not a common occurrence but it's not something that's out of the realm of happening."