Suburban Fire Marshal

1046 hours. Central Islip Fire Department responds to a house fire at 13 Dietz Street off Wheeler Road. Arriving units encounter heavy fire on the ground level of a private dwelling. Two lines are stretched and operate. Mutual aid from Hauppauge for an engine, Islip Terrace to cover, Brentwood for a RIT. Central Islip-Hauppauge Community Ambulance and East Brentwood FD ambulance were also on scene. Fire was knocked down within fifteen minutes.  

The cause of the fire is being investigated by Suffolk County Police Arson. 

The volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps that protect the Town of Smithtown and the Village of Lake Grove handled a total  of 34,111 alarms in 2018. This number breaks down as follows:

Centereach 3456

Setauket 3628

Ronkonkoma 4211

Hauppauge 1049

Commack 1411

CVAC 3785

CiHVAC 6600

Kings Park 1954

Smithtown 3827

St. James 1437

Nesconset 2479

Nissequogue 258

0500 hours. The Nesconset Fire Department responds to a report of smoke in the house at 7 Sansun Lane off of Hillside Avenue. Units arrive, search he building and find an active fire in the basement. Mutual aid is requested from St. James, Ronkonkoma, Centereach, Lakeland, Nissequogue, Stony Brook, Hauppuage and Smithtown. The fire was placed under control within 50 minutes. There were no injuries. Fire Marshals from the Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety are investigating.

Hauppauge Fire Department responds with Central Islip Hauppauge Ambulance to Bretton Road and Wheeler Road in regards to a traffic collision. Units arrived to find that a passenger vehicle had left the roadway, and struck a utility pole, bringing down the pole and wires. There were no injuries so FD personnel secured the vehicle and stood by for PSE&G. Power was expected to be restored to the area by morning. 

1428 hours. Smithtown FD responds to Main Street and Lawrence Ave in regards to a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. Units arrived to find an adult male that had been hit by a pickup truck on Main Street. The victim sustained serious injuries. The victim was packaged and transported to the hospital by Smithtown FIre Department ambulance. The driver of the vehicle remained on scene. Main Street was closed from Elm Avenue to Landing Avenue for 4 hours for the police investigation. 

2222 hours. The Nesconset Fire Department is dispatched to on a telephone alarm from subject who states that a nest smoke detector activated in his suite within a single story multiple occupancy commercial building at 646 Middle Country Road. Firefighters arrived and found a light smoke condition within the suite.  Crews searched further and found smoke within all twelve suites of the building. The alarm was reactivated as a working fire, bringing mutual aid in from St. James, Ronkonkoma, Centereach, Hauppauge, Smithtown, Lakeland, Nissequogue and Commack Fire Departments. Crews forced entry into all of the businesses and found an active fire in a wood shop on the east end of the building. The fire was extinguished with a 2½ inch line. Fire damage was confined to the one unit, which is occupied by a construction company. Smoke damage was light to moderate throughout the 220 foot by 100 foot building.  Firefighters operated for approximately 90 minutes.

There were no injuries. Fire Marshals from the Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety handle the investigation. 

1206 hours. The Commack and Dix Hills Fire Departments respond to a vehicle fire on on the exit ramp to go westbound from the Northern State Parkway. Units arrived to find a heavily involved Cooper Mini. The fire was extinguished without incident and there were no injuries.

0840 Ronkonkoma, Nesconset, Farmingville and Lakeland Fire Departments are dispatched to a house fire at 12 Carl Street off School Street in the Ronkonkoma fire district. Units arrive to find an active fire on the upper level of a two-story occupied private dwelling. Crews pushed in with two lines and had the fire under control within 31 minutes of activation. All searches were negative, the truck crews opened the roof and FIre Marshals from the Town of Brookhaven and Detectives from the Suffolk Police Arson Squad are handling the investigation. Holtsville FD sent an engine to cover and Holbrook FD sent an ambulance to cover.  First Assistant Chief Murray was the incident commander.

2206 hours. A tractor trailer making a turn onto southbound Hawkins Avenue from Portion Road collided with an SUV. The impact resulted in damage to the diesel fuel saddle tank on the passenger side of the tractor. The Ronkonkoma Fire Department responds to the scene and transports one adult male with non-life threatening injuries. FD personnel control the leak and call for the Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshals Office for their haz-mat team. Units operated at the scene for approximately 2 hours. The Ronkonkoma Fire Department handled two additional alarms while operating at this scene. 

1000 hours. The Kings Park FIre Department responds to Old Northport Road near Indian Head Road in regards to a report of a traffic collision. Units arrive to find a single vehicle that had left the roadway, going through a chain link fence and was now resting up against a tree in someones yard. The occupants self extricated and sustained minor injuries. Both were transported via ambulance. 

 Selden Fire Department responded to a working structure fire on Loebel Street around 5:58 am Christmas morning. Under the command of Chief of Department Bill Xikis, responding members quickly knocked down the fire that started in the garage from spreading. Mutual aid from neighboring departments also responded to the scene. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Brookhaven Fire Marshals Office.

2048 hours. The St. James Fire Department responds to a traffic collision on Moriches Road between Von Hagen Ave and Fairfield Drive. Units arrive to find that vehicle struck a tree and a utility pole, brining down the wires. The operator of the vehicle self-extricated and was transported via ambulance to the hospital with minor injuries. Power was out in the area for a few hours while PSE&G replaced the pole and restored the circuits. Chiefs Mills and Gonzales operated with engines 1, 3 Rescue 9 and ambulance 61. Photos courtesy of St. James FD.

The following photos are from the Kings Park, Smithtown, St. James and Hauppauge FIre Department holiday parades. If anyone has any from Ronkonkoma, Setauket, Centereach, Commack and Nesconset, please send them my way so I can add them here. 

Thanks to Joe Sperber and Greg Gottlieb for the photos.

1350 hours. The St. James Fire Department responds to a report of a fire in the St. James Laundromat at 473 Lake Avenue. Units arrive to find smoke in the building. A quick investigation finds a fire in one of the clothes dryers. FD personnel quickly extinguish the fire and clear the smoke from the building. The dryer was disconnected and the scene turned over to Fire Marshals from the Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety There were no injuries. Dave Mills was the Chief in charge and operated with St. James engines 1, 3 and Rescue 9. The Nesconset Fire Department also sent a unit to the scene. Photos courtesy of the St. James Fire Department.

The St. James FIre Department laid Ex-Captain and 40 year member Charles Masterson to rest today. Charlie, who passed on December 15th, was a longtime resident of St. James Charlie retired from the FDNY where he had been a Fireman in Ladder 26-2 and 26 and then a Fire Marshall in Manhattan. After retiring, Charlie went to work for Approved Fire Prevention doing sprinkler system inspections. He and I crossed paths and spoke often.  Charlie was the loving husband of Joan, the beloved father of Chuck (Lisa), Robert (Sierra), the cherished Grandpa of James, Sean, Liam and Kevin. Loving brother of Edward, Helen, Michael and the late Vincent. Funeral Mass was held today at 10 AM at St's. Philip & James Church, St. James, NY. Cremation Private.

In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to NY Firefighters Burn Center, 21 Asch Loop Bronx, NY 10475. Charlie was a gentleman, a professional and an asset to the fire service and the community. Rest in peace my friend. 

1139 hours. The Commack Fire Department, Commack Ambulance (CVAC) and the Dix Hills Fire Department were all dispatched to a traffic collision on Commack Road near Imperial Gate. Units arrived to find a collision involving two vehicles. Crews from all agencies worked together to extricate, package and transport the occupants. 

Photos courtesy of Joe Sperber. 

1507 Ronkonkoma FD is dispatched to a report of a structure fire at Shenanigans at 228 Hawkins Avenue. Units arrived to find a fire in an exhaust fan. The fire was quickly extinguished and all mutual aids were cancelled. Ronkonkoma FD personnel vented the building, isolated the fan and went back into service. 

0137 hours. The Nesconset Fire Department is dispatched to a report of a vehicle fire at Third Generation Auto Body-767 Nesconset Highway.. Units arrived to find three vehicles burning in the lot with utility wires down and burning. FD personnel extinguished the fire from a distance and secured the  the area. A Smithtown Town Fire Marshal was requested to the scene by the fire department and the arson squad was requested through Suffolk Police. The fire was found to have been a result of an energized power line that came down on one of the vehicles.  There were no injuries.

Uniformed and civilian employees of the Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety bid farewell to Chief FIre Marshal Richard McKay during his final walk out this afternoon. Chief McKay hung up his hat after a 30 year career with the Town. In his time, Richard oversaw significant changes to the Town Fire Code, and helped introduce fire prevention to the Town residents through operation EDITH and other programs. Richards insight wisdom and leadership will surely be missed. We wish him health and happiness as he begins the next chapter in his life. The Town will appoint a New Chief Fire Marshal in the new year.

1750 hours. The Smithtown Fire Department is dispatched to Millers Pond on Maple Avenue in regards to a report of a vehicle in the water. Units arrive to find a Toyota Camry submerged in the pond approximately 50 feet off shore. The lone occupant had already been removed by a passing motorist. FD personnel from Smithtown entered the water and checked to confirm that there were no other occupants within the vehicle. Smithtown FD EMS transported the victim and rescuer to the hospital. The St. James and Nesconset Fire Department Dive Teams were also at the scene. Suffolk County Park Rangers are investigating.