Heating Unit Believed To Cause Restaurant Fire In Stony Brook: Fire Marshal

STONY BROOK, NY —The cause of an early morning fire that broke out at a Stony Brook restaurant, drawing area firefighters, is believed to have been caused by a failure of a heating unit with space above the kitchen, Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshal Chris Merhman said.

Merhman, whose office investigated the fire, deemed it accidental but said the building has been deemed to be unsafe for occupancy due to damage to the electrical systems and minor structural damage.

In a post to Instagram, the restaurant's owners said they hope to be back up and running next weekend.

The fire broke out at around 3 a.m. at the restaurant, which is connected to other businesses in a strip on Main Street, and no one was hurt, a police spokesman said.

The fire ripped into part of the roof in the back of the restaurant and first responders had to work quickly to stop it from spreading, News 12 reported.

In the Instagram post, Luca's owners said they are "grateful the damage was minimal."

"Thank you to all the local fire departments for their swift response and dedication in containing the small fire that occurred early this morning," the post read. "Please stay tuned to our social media platforms for further updates as we gather more information."

"Your support means the world to us," it concluded.

Editor's Note: A previous version of the story listed Suffolk's Arson Squad as responding. Instead, the Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshal's office investigated.