September 24, 1951. A tiny girl and her infant brother died and six others escaped early today as a fast moving fire swept through their estate home. The fire started from an undetermined cause in the main house of the palatial Griffin Estate, trapping the entire family of William J. Biggart, well-to-do fabrics executive, who purchased the main house and part of the 200 acre estate only a year ago. He formerly lived in St. James. Dead are his 2 ½ year old daughter, Michael Biggart and her brother John W, 18-months old. By the time family members discovered the fire, it had already advanced to the point where flames were sweeping across the lower floor, shortly thereafter, the 15 room house was fully involved.
According to patrolman Meyer Lederman of Smithtown Police, Michael first discovered the fire just before 1AM. She slept in a room on the north wing with Hohn, Lederman said and went to the room next door to awaken her two brothers, William 5 and Thomas 7. Both brothers slid down a drain pipe and ran about on a neighbors lawn shouting that their mommy was burning. A neighbor, Fred Lohmann, called the alarm into the fire department at 0104 hours.
As firefighters arrived, they found Mrs. Mary Noon Biggart pounding on a window on the south side of the home. The vamps put up a ladder and rescued her and a 4 month old son Patrick. Then from another window on the south wing, they removed William J. Biggart. A family maid, Helen O’Malley. leaped from a second floor balcony to safety and was transported to Mather Hospital with a leg fracture. Clarence Nelson, a Smithtown firefighter crawled into the fire and located/removed John. Firefighters tried to save him for 45 minutes to no avail. Firefighter Al Sanders and Chief of Police Cyril Donnelly located the badly charred body of Michael in a closet on the second floor. They theorized that she wound up there in a confused attempt to escape.
The childrens bodies were removed to the Swensson Funeral Home in Smithtown Branch on the order of Dr. Joseph Mauceri, Suffolk County Coroner. The Reverend John Mansfield, a priest, administered last rites. 100 firefighters from Smithtown, Hauppauge and Nesconset battled the fire until 0430 hours. Lack of a suitable water supply on the estate hampered their efforts.
Biggert is associated with Mallinson Fabrics Corp in Manhattan. He was an ex army captain. 9-27-1951 Smithtown News
Also referenced in the “History of the Smithtown Fire Department 1956”
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