Rockville Centre Building & Tanker Fire 02/16/2022

On Wednesday February 16th at 1:12a, the Rockville Centre Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a building fire in the vicinity of Sunrise Hwy and North Centre Ave. With Rockville Centre Chiefs en route, E442 advised they were hearing multiple explosions from their station and had visible smoke and flames in the distance. Chief of Department Avondet [4401] quickly arrived on scene and transmitted a Signal 10 with heavy fire and a partial collapse of the vacant La-Z-Boy Store as well as an overturned fuel tanker on fire in the parking lot a few hundred feet away. It was quickly determined that the tanker struck the building before overturning and was actively leaking and igniting fires in the storm drains and sewers for hundreds of feet down Sunrise Hwy. The fire was immediately upgraded to a second alarm with additional requests for Hazmat and Foam Units including Port Authority ARFF from JFK. Firefighters stretched multiple handlines and master streams from portable monitors and Tower Ladders to begin extinguishing the fire before starting foam operations. Firefighters from at least 26 departments worked throughout the night to extinguish the blaze which ultimately caused further collapse of the original fire building, significant fire damage to a second structure and damage to the underground and overhead utilities. It is estimated that at least 9,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from the tanker. The driver of the Fuel Tanker was able to self extricate prior to Fire Department arrival and was transported to a local hospital where he was later released. The cause of the accident is under investigation.