Coram Blaze Displacing 21 Not Deemed 'Suspicious;' Building Had No Automatic Sprinkler System: Fire Marshal

CORAM, NY — The blaze that displaced 21 people from their homes Sunday night at a Coram apartment complex has not been deemed suspicious, though the building was not equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, and its alarm system activates but does not automatically send notification to a central monitoring system, Brookhaven Town Fire Marshal Christopher Mehrman said in a statement to Patch.

The blaze broke out in the garage of a home on Townhouse Drive at around 9:30 p.m., and fire crews found the flames extended to the main structure, which was "well involved," and a second home, the Coram Fire Department said in a post to Facebook.

A "large volume of fire was encountered," when firefighters arrived at the scene, Mehrman said.

It took around an hour and a half to extinguish the flames, according to the Coram Fire Department.

The fire damaged four of the eight units in the building, and due to fire damage in the four units and to building services, including electricity, water, and the fire alarm system, which affected the entire building, the structure was deemed "unsafe to occupy," Mehrman said.

One resident of the complex was hurt, but refused to be taken to the hospital, according to Mehrman.

Volunteers from the American Red Cross' Long Island Disaster Action Team registered 15 households, including 19 adults and one child, for emergency assistance, including financial aid, a spokeswoman said.

A joint investigation by Mehrman's office and Suffolk police's Arson Squad found that based on the scene examination, and eyewitness accounts, the fire began inside a garage of unit, "and although there are a number of potentional causes of the initial ignition of the fire, that were evaluated and continue to be evaluated, the cause of the fire does not appear to be suspicious in nature at this time," Mehrman said.

"It is important to note, that based on the age of the building and the fire and building codes in effect at that time of original construction, the building was not equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system," he said. "Additionally, the fire alarm system that is in place, is of local alarm-type, which means when the fire alarm system activates, it does not automatically send notification to a central monitoring station for fire department notification."

"These types of fire alarm systems rely on the occupants hearing the alarm-sounding devices and reporting the fire to 911 or the fire department directly," he added.

Mehrman did not say if any sprinklers went off at all or if any notification was sent to a central monitoring system.

Police logged a call for the location at 9:31 p.m., according to its Public Information Bureau.

The fire was one of two that Suffolk Arson Squad detectives responded to on Sunday.

A fire broke out at a home in Yaphank on Sunday afternoon.

Any residents displaced by the Coram fire who did not connect with Red Cross responders on scene can call 877-RED-CROSS (option 1) for help.

This story will be updated. Check back later.