Firefighters Tackle Wading River Blaze During Gusty Winds, Icy Conditions Saturday: FD

WADING RIVER, NY — Firefighters braved gusty winds and icy conditions to tackle a blaze that broke out in a Wading River home early Saturday, officials said.

According to Chief Mark Donnelly of the Wading River Fire Department, a call came in at 1:07 a.m. about a residential structure fire on 20th street.

Multiple calls were being received due to a visible fire at the home, he said.

A Wading River Fire District medic, upon opening the door at the Wading River fire station, was met by a nearby homeowner, telling him that there was a house on fire on 20th street, officials said.

WRFD 3rd Assistant Chief Denise Gluck was first on scene and confirmed that the event would be deemed a "working fire," officials said.

Chief Gluck had Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services reactivate the WRFD for the working fire, which automatically started a WRFD mutual aid pre-plan, bringing in additional personnel and equipment from neighboring departments, officials said.

Chief Gluck completed a 360-degree survey and reported to responding WRFD Chief of Department Donnelly that the fire was in a single-story residential structure — in addition, two vehicles were on fire next to the home, officials said.

A second residential structure was being threatened by the fire due to the windy conditions and close proximity, officials said.

Chief Gluck also reported that all the occupants of the home were out and accounted for, officials said.

WRFD Chief Donnelly and Engine 13 arrived a few minutes later with Chief Donnelly taking command and Chief Gluck being assigned to operations, officials said.

Engine 13’s Officer, Lieutenant Matt Jakubowsky and the crew, hooked up to a nearby hydrant and immediately stretched a hose line to begin an "aggressive interior attack" to knock down the fire, officials said.

Engine 13’s crew also stretched an additional hose line to extinguish the car fires and cool the neighboring structure, the WRFD said.

WRFD Ladder 4 arrived, stretched additional hose lines, supported Engine 13’s crew and set up to perform vertical ventilation, the FD said.

Mutual aid included units from the Riverhead, Ridge, Rocky Point, and Manorville Fire Departments; they performed primary and secondary searches of the residence, helped with the hose lines, provided entilation and checked for any possible extension into the neighboring structure, officials said.

The Brookhaven National Laboratory Fire Department stood by as a rapid intervention team, in case of any injured or trapped firefighters, officials said.

WRFD Medic 80, WRFD EMS personnel and a crew from Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps set up rehab for the firefighters and stood by in case of any injuries, officials said.

The Manorville Community Ambulance and Sound Beach FD stood by at the WRFD to handle any additional calls in the district; CFRES coordinators were on scene to provide support to Chief Donnelly and the operation, officials said.

"Because of the hard work of everyone on scene, the fire was declared as being under control at 1:45 a.m. — 38 minutes after dispatch," officials said.

Crews remained on scene until 3:17 a.m. performing "overhaul," to expose any hidden fire or embers and packing up their equipment, officials said.

Members had to deal with gusty winds and icy conditions, the WRFD said. There were no injuries reported, officials said.

The scene was turned over to the Riverhead Town Fire Marshal's office for investigation, officials said.

Chief Donnelly said he would like to thank all the members of WRFD, the mutual aid departments, SCFRES coordinators, SCFRES dispatchers, Riverhead Fire marshals, and Riverhead Town police "for their support, hard work, and dedication."