Hauppauge FD-House fire on Helen Marie Place

November 24, 1965. The excited barking of their dog alerted a family of four to a fire in teh basement of their split level home here early today, enabling the fa,ily to escape before flames engulfed the upper floors. The dog died in the fire.
The homeowner, WIlliam Kane said he, his wife Dolores and his two children, Candia 8 and William Jr, 4, escaped to the street wearing only pajamas and coats. I ran up and got them out, Kane said and then I tried to save the dog. His attempts to enter the cellar through a door within the house and through the back door failed when he was forced back by the heavy smoke and flames shooting out of the basement.
The fire was discovered at 5AM in the home at 33 Helen Marie Place when Mrs. Kane awakened her husband to ask him to investigate the excited yipping and barking of their miniature pet french poodle Pom Pom. After evacuating his family and attempting to save the dog, Kane called the Hauppauge Fire Department, which responded with seven trucks and 60 men.
The fire was brought under control at around 6AM. Hauppauge Fire Chief Howard Schreck said that judging from the way the fire was burning when his men arrived, the family narrowly missed being trapped by the flames. He said that had the dogs warning not alerted the family when it did, they would never have gotten downstairs. Three other family pets, a hampster, a turtle and a parakeet also died in the blaze.
Schreck said that the cause of the fire had not been determined. He sadi it started in a small basement room, which housed heating facilities. He said the oak floor of the bedroom, occupied by Candia, directly above the basement room had contributed to the safe evacuation of the family. The floor effectively contained the flames until the family got out. In the latter stages of the blaze, however, the flames spread from basement to attic.
Schreck said that abouve 40 percent of the house was destroyed. Kane, who said the building was fully insured, said he believed the structure might be a total loss. Kane is an air traffic controller at Long Island Airport in Bohema. The Kane family was taken in by a neighbor, John Farley of 40 Helen Marie Place.
Said Kane of his family’s escape, it pays to have a dog. I dont think I will ever go without one for the rest of my life.
Newsday Feb 24, 1965