Fire Damages Home on Newman Court

A Newman Court home went up in flames just after 4 p.m. Wednesday when a contractor was doing work in the bathroom and accidentally caused the blaze, officials said.

"They were working in the bathroom soldering pipes, and he let it get away from him," Assistant Fire Chief Walter Griffin said. "The whole bathroom went up [in flames] and it extended to the back part of the roof."

The only person in the home at the time of the fire was the contractor, Griffin said, and he was unharmed.

Firefighters had to remove the back part of the roof to ventilate the home, Griffin added. Two northbound lanes of Bellmore Avenue are closed at North
Jerusalem Road in East Meadow.

This is a breaking news story and Patch will provide more information as it's made available.