It seems another local establishment has sadly gone up in flames. On Saturday, Dec. 21, Nassau County Police Department Third Precinct officers responded to call for smoke coming from 144 Jericho Tpke., which is the location of the popular Portuguese restaurant, Churrasqueira Bairrada. Upon arrival, officers were able to evacuate the building and locate a fire coming from the kitchen area. Fire departments from Mineola, Williston Park, East Williston, Garden City Park, Westbury, Carle Place and New Hyde Park responded and were able to extinguish the fire. Luckily, there were no reported injuries.
Right before the fire, the Mineola Fire Department was alerted to a carbon monoxide alarm. As chiefs were handling the carbon monoxide call, Captain Spencer Wolf of Truck No. 2 noticed a column of black smoke rising from Willis Avenue and Jericho Turnpike. Wolf notified FireCom, and had the Mineola Fire Department start responding to an unknown type of fire. Upon arrival, Wolf determined that this was a building fire at Churrasqueira Bairrada. Wolf transmitted a “Signal 10—Working Building Fire” and advised that the fire was in the duct work and led a team to the roof to tackle the quickly expanding fire.
Chief of the department Robert Connolly arrived on scene and established the command post. Captain Michael Fernandes of Engine 1 worked to get a positive water source to combat the fire. Second assistant chief Domingos Magalhaes entered the restaurant to coordinate the engine companies interior attack on the fire. He was assisted by Engine No. 3 Captain Michael Freitas and Engine No. 1 Lt. Daniel Accatino, who insured appropriate handlines went into operation. Engine No. 3 Lieutenant Andy Carvalho gathered an additional engine team to stretch a protection line into the restaurant. Through an aggressive interior attack, the fire was contained with no fire spread.
Back on the roof of the restaurant, the Mineola Fire Department was assisted by truck teams from Garden City, Williston Park and Westbury as they opened up the duct work to reach the deep seated fire. An additional hose-line was stretched off the bucket of Tower Ladder 168, which was fed by East Williston. Carle Place was on scene as a Firefighter Assist Standby Team (FAST) in the event of a firefighter down.
Truck No. 2 Lieutenants Chris Strauss and Brendan Corrigan checked for extension and initiated a ventilation operation to clear out the smoke from the building. During the fire, Mineola was covered by standby units from New Hyde Park, Albertson and Garden City Park. All operations were complete in approximately 90 minutes.
The owners of Churrasqueira Bairrada said that they expect to reopen their business in the next week or two when the Mineola American reached out for comment. The investigation into the fire is ongoing.
—Additional information provided by the Mineola Fire Department
