Westhampton Beach Firefighters Tackle 3 Fires In 1 Day

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — The volunteers of the Westhampton Beach Fire Department were called out three separate times on Presidents' Day Monday,officials said.

First, at 6:35 a.m., they were called out to an electrical hazard on Linden Lane in Quiogue, where they discovered wires down and burning, the WHBFD said.

PSEG Long Island was notified and Chief Larry Saccente, an engine crew, and fire police remained on scene to await their arrival.

Next, at 8:43 a.m., the department received notice of a structure fire on Stacy Drive in Westhampton Beach, officials said. Chief Saccente and the engine responded to the fire, leaving the fire police and Southampton Town Police in charge of the first scene.

Chief Saccente was the first officer on scene at Stacy Drive, and reported light smoke in the building in what at first appeared to be a chimney fire. However, the smoke soon became thicker and flames appeared from the wall next to the chimney, officials said.

The house was occupied at the time of the fire, and it was the residents who called in the alarm. There were no reported injuries and the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal, officials said.

The firefighters attacked those flames and began searching for additional fire, the WHBFD said. The fire was trying to spread to the second floor, but remained hidden behind walls, making it difficult to locate and extinguish, officials said.

Every time the firefighters thought they had the fire knocked down, they discovered more flames behind another portion of wall, especially near the chimney, officials said. Eventually, they were able to extinguish all the flames and begin overhaul, officials said.

The Westhampton Beach Fire Department responded with one chief, two engines, one tower truck, and a fire police vehicle. Mutual aid was supplied by six fire departments: Eastport sent an engine; East Moriches and East Quogue each sent a ladder truck; and Quogue sent two engines. Riverhead and Flanders each sent an engine to stand by at Westhampton Beach’s headquarters. The Westhampton War Memorial Ambulance and the East Moriches Ambulance were on scene, as were the Westhampton Beach Village Police. A Suffolk County coordinator and a Southampton Town fire marshal also assisted. The Westhampton Beach Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary supplied water, coffee, and food to all the volunteers.

Finally, at 12:30 p.m., the department was called out to a brush fire in the Pine Barrens on the south side of Sunrise Highway, about a mile west of Exit 63. The fire, which was called in by multiple passers-by, extended about 50-feet deep into the woods for about a quarter of a mile, pushed by winds gusting to 50 knots. The eastbound lanes of Sunrise Highway were shut down while tankers and brush trucks battled the wind-driven flames, officials said.

It took about two hours to extinguish the fire and douse any residual hot spots, officials said. Once again, Westhampton Beach was assisted by a number of neighboring departments. Brush trucks, tankers, and fire police vehicles were supplied by Eastport, East Moriches, Center Moriches, Manorville, Mattituck, Riverhead, Ridge, Wading River, East Quogue, Hampton Bays and the Gabreski Air Base. The Jamesport Fire Department stood standby at Westhampton Beach’s headquarters and the Quogue Fire Department assisted by answering a call for wires down on Peters Lane.

Chief Saccente expressed his gratitude to all the mutual aid departments saying, "The brush fire, in particular, could have been much worse without their help."