2 people found dead in burning Hempstead house; mayor says building will be razed

Two people were found dead early Sunday inside a burning house in Hempstead, authorities said.

Hempstead firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls just before 1:30 a.m. and arrived to find a "fully involved house fire," according to the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office.

The house, on Sycamore Avenue, had been boarded up after a previous fire, in October 2025. 

Two bodies were found in the house, Michael Uttaro, Nassau County's chief fire marshal, wrote to Newsday in an email. 

"It is believed they died as a result of the fire," but "the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner," Uttaro said.

The victims were not immediately identified.

"We believe they are squatters who were using this abandoned house as shelter," Uttaro added.

Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs said he visited the house after the fire and neighbors told him that they had frequently seen people coming into the house in the mornings.

"Unfortunately," Hobbs added, the neighbors "did not report that to the police or to the building department."

The house had not been slated for demolition after the fire last fall, but after Sunday's fire, which caused extensive damage, Hobbs said he would seek to have it razed. 

Firefighters from Baldwin, East Meadow, Freeport, Garden City, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, South Hempstead, Uniondale and West Hempstead — 75 firefighters in all — were called to the scene and brought the fire under control within two hours, officials said.

"The cause of the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious," Uttaro said. "However, this is still an active investigation." The fire marshal's office and Nassau arson detectives were investigating.