Electrical Fire Breaks Out Outside Nassau District Court Building, Officials Say

HEMPSTEAD, NY — An electrical fire broke out outside the Nassau County District Court building Tuesday evening, disrupting power and traffic lights in the area near the court, officials said.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal's office said an electrical vault fire had broken out at 139 Jackson Street at 5:07 p.m., with efforts still ongoing after 6 p.m. to put out the fire.

In an update just before 7 p.m., the fire marshal's office said the fire had been located at 99 Main St. in Hempstead. According to the fire marshal's office, a team of about 150 firefighters from the Baldwin, Elmont, Franklin Square, Freeport, Garden City, Hempstead, Mineola, Oceanside, North Bellmore, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, South Hempstead, Uniondale and West Hempstead fire departments worked for over 90 minutes to put out the blaze.

While fire officials said power was shut off throughout Hempstead Village, affecting traffic signals and businesses in the area, officials said the courthouse building itself was unaffected by the fire.

Just before 7:30 Tuesday, PSEG officials said that power had needed to be taken offline for about 1,500 customers about an hour earlier. According to PSEG officials, utility crews were on-scene and assessing damage after the fire was under control.

If no damage is found, PSEG officials said power could be back online within the hour. If there is damage, however, that timeline could extend, officials said.

In the aftermath of the fire, officials said county hazmat personnel, fire marshal inspections and investigations divisions and the deputy county fire coordinator were all on the scene.

This story is developing, and Patch will continue to update as news breaks.