This Dog Story Has A Happy Ending

This was the scene at the Georgia Street home of Noah and Jita Klat in Hicksville on Jan. 26 after a fire broke out in the kitchen. Nassau County Police Department Medic Benjamin Butt (in grey shirt) will shortly administer oxygen to the Klat’s dog, Inca, being tended by police officers Andrew Massa (kneeling and looking at camera) and Steven Tornetta, who drove Inca to the nearest veterinarian. In the doorway is Hicksville firefighter and ex-Captain Joseph DiFronzo, who helped rescue two other dogs, hiding under a table in the kitchen. The male at left is an unidentified neighbor. (Photo by Kevin Imm) — This was the scene at the Georgia Street home of Noah and Jita Klat in Hicksville on Jan. 26 after a fire broke out in the kitchen. Nassau County Police Department Medic Benjamin Butt (in grey shirt) will shortly administer oxygen to the Klat’s dog, Inca, being tended by police officers Andrew Massa (kneeling and looking at camera) and Steven Tornetta, who drove Inca to the nearest veterinarian. In the doorway is Hicksville firefighter and ex-Captain Joseph DiFronzo, who helped rescue two other dogs, hiding under a table in the kitchen. The male at left is an unidentified neighbor. *(Photo by Kevin Imm)*

Nassau County police officers and Hicksville firefighters earned recognition from Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano after saving three dogs from a house fire in Hicksville on Jan. 26. The ceremony was held Feb. 2 at the Nassau County Emergency Center and also featured Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter, as well as homeowner Jita Klat and two of her dogs.

Police officer Andrew Massa holds Inca, found unconscious in the living room. (Photo by Kevin Imm) — Police officer Andrew Massa holds Inca, found unconscious in the living room. *(Photo by Kevin Imm)*

Emergency personnel responded to a fire at the Georgia Street house owned by Klat and husband Noah at about 9 a.m. Police officers Andrew Massa, Michael Rothwell and Steven Tornetta, and Police Medic Benjamin Butt, could hear a dog barking inside. According to Mangano, Massa kicked in the front door and the officers, after crawling on the floor to avoid the thick smoke, found Inca, a 2½-year-old husky mix, unconscious in the living room. Massa and Tornetta carried her out and Butt administered oxygen. Tornetta then drove her to a Westbury veterinarian for a check-up.

Meanwhile the Hicksville Fire Department had also responded. Learning that there were two more dogs in the house, firefighters and ex-captains Gary Lewis and Joseph DiFronzo forced open the back door and, after a search, found Sasha, a 2-year-old Greek pekingese, and Chloe, a 10-year-old border collie. The two were hiding under the kitchen table. They were led out of the house and firefighter and EMT Jennifer Sheehan aided Butt in treating the dogs, who were not injured.

All of these named responders, along with Hicksville Fire Department 3rd Assistant Chief William Efinger, who directed operations to quickly douse the flames, earned certificates at the ceremony.