Early AM Fire in Lindenhurst Engulfs Home, Sends Woman to Hospital

An early morning fire in Lindenhurst engulfed a residential home on Wellwood Avenue Saturday night, sending one woman to St. Joseph Hospital and killing at least three of the family’s pet cats.

The fire broke out at approximately 1:30 a.m. at the house, located on the corner of Oxford Street and Wellwood Avenue, a few blocks south of Sunrise Highway.

The responded first, and with the help of the neighboring fire departments from Copiague, West Babylon and , the fire was extinguished but not before the home was completely ablaze, according to Town of Babylon Fire marshal Anthony Cardali.

“One woman was brought to the hospital with some minor burns,” said Cardali. “The North Lindenhurst Rescue did a good job of getting her out and transported.”

The woman transported was the homeowner and lived there with her adult son, who wasn’t home at the time of fire.

The son told Lindenhurst Patch, “My mother has some burns to her hands, but, according to my sister, she’s going to be okay. I wasn’t home. I just got home from Queens…First, you find out if your mom’s okay, and she will be. Then you ask about the animals. We think two of the cats survived. We’re not sure.”

The sister and some family friends were there to help him following the fire.

Cardali told the son at least three of the family cats didn’t make it out alive. He asked the son if he noticed anything unusual when he was home earlier in the day. The son said no.

Cardali told Lindenhurst Patch, “There was heavy fire on the first floor up to the second floor attic area… The home is severely damaged…But it did not spread to any other homes.”

The fact that it was a corner home, and there was no wind, helped, he added.

The fire doesn’t appear “out of the ordinary,” Cardali further noted. “But the fire is undetermined pending investigation.”

It will be investigated by the town’s fire marshal’s office, led by Deputy Commissioner Patrick Farrell, along with the Village of Lindenhurst.

“This fire is technically in the village of Lindenhurst, but they were out of service tonight and their area was covered. That’s why North Lindenhurst responded first,” explained Cardali.

The Lindenhurst Fire Department was holding its annual installation dinner Saturday night, he said, where the new fire chiefs – including Chief James Gallagher – were officially sworn in by Mayor Tom Brennan.

When it comes to investigations in incorporated villages like Lindenhurst, the town’s fire marshals’ office will sometimes assist village fire departments. And in this case it will assist Chief Gallagher and Village Fire marshal Richard Lyman.

The Suffolk County Police Department Cardali said, will also assist in the joint investigation. The SCPD was on scene directing traffic and closing off Wellwood at Sunrise Highway and New York Avenue until the fire was out and the fire departments departed

Lieutenant Michael Newman of the NLFD told Cardali that since a wire was damaged that delivered electricity to the home from the transformer in front of the house, LIPA was on its way to assess the situation.

“The cable that brought service to house short-circuited, and so we popped, [or turned off], the breaker on the pole for safety reasons,” said Cardali.

A LIPA truck showed up to remove the affected service wire, and LIPA was waiting to get the okay from fire officials to later go inside.

There was a heavy fire load in the home, and the home appeared to have been burning a bit before units arrived on scene, said Cardali. However, NLFD was not only assisted by Copiague, West Babylon and Babylon Village because of the fire’s intensity, but also as part of standard procedure, as well.

“We have a system in place that has back-up firefighters come on scene to help in case firefighters become trapped, or suffer exhaustion or injury,” said the fire marshal.

It’s the town’s Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) response, Cardali added.