West Hempstead, NY – An obstetrician lost his house but saved his wife and six children from a fire that ravaged their home early Friday, and then got cited with building violations.
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"Today was just my day," Dr. Herman Weiss said after the chain of events unfolded, adding that all he lost was "just stuff."
"This could have been a real tragedy," said Weiss, 37.
He awoke around 3 a.m. to the screech of a smoke detector and the sight of flames inching up his home built for his family in 2006. He got the family to safety from the blaze, which took more than 100 firefighters about an hour to quell, said the Nassau County fire marshal's office.
But the fire destroyed the second floor of the 6,000-square-foot house and the family sport-utility vehicle.
As the smoke cleared, Weiss was paged and went to a hospital to deliver an infant around 6 a.m.
The fire brought scrutiny from building inspectors, who cited the Weisses with a plumbing violation — stemming from a discrepancy between building plans and the boilers actually installed — and with living in the house without a Certificate of Occupancy.
Weiss said the family had hired a lawyer to do what was needed to get the document. But inspectors ordered to tear down the damaged house. Weiss said he hoped to rebuild in the same place. [Newsday]