Fire Destroys Getty Service Station on Jericho Turnpike
On Tuesday morning, Aug. 14 at about 9 a.m., a fire broke out at the Olympos Getty Station at 449 Jericho Turnpike in Mineola. According to the Third Precinct police report, owner Michael Maragopoulos was on the premises along with five other employees. No one was injured. Local fire departments, including Mineola, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Williston Park, responded to battle the blaze. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Fire investigators are probing an explosion and fire at a Mineola service station Tuesday that destroyed a dozen cars and injured two firefighters, officials said.
The fire started about 9:30 a.m. at the Getty station at 449 Jericho Tpke., a few blocks from Chaminade High School. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, but no other injuries were reported, an official said. The station and at least 12 customers' cars were destroyed.
Vincent McManus, a division supervisor for the Nassau fire marshal's office, said investigators have yet to determine the cause. Workers for the station said the repair shop contained tanks with a flammable gas mixture used for welding, but that equipment was not being used at the time, McManus said.
A station employee said propane tanks in a storage area of the repair shop exploded. But later, fire officials spoke with that employee, who said he realized the tanks contained welding fuel, not propane.
Investigators believe the fire started in a storage room, but they could not reach the room because flames caused the roof to collapse and with it a 2-ton air-conditioning unit fell into the room, McManus said. Getty officials have arranged for equipment to clear the debris so investigators can reach the room, McManus said.
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