Fire Destroys East Setauket Home
An East Setauket home was destroyed by fire Sept. 23.
The Setauket Fire Department responded to a fire on Franklin Avenue in East Setauket Sept. 23 after receiving an emergency call approximately 11:30 a.m. District manager Dave Sterne said the first pumper was on the scene within five minutes where the firefighters found a fully involved fire of a large structure.
Chief Paul Rodier advised the crews to attack the fire from the outside, according to the chief’s office. The fire department received mutual aid from Stony Brook, Port Jefferson, Terryville, St. James and Centereach fire departments as well as Port Jefferson and Stony Brook volunteer ambulance corps.
Sterne said the size of the fire was a rare one.
“The combination of the homeowner waiting a long time to call it in, along with all the combustibles he had stored in his house, led to an extreme amount of fire even before we got there,” Sterne said. “Given our rapid response time, we should have found a situation where a fire was just starting to spread and could have been confined to a smaller area where it had started, but upon arrival all areas of the house and contents were already on fire.”
Sterne said in case of fire or an EMS emergency, residents can call the district’s direct hotline number, 631-941-4441.
“Whether it be a medical emergency or fire emergency, seconds count and the sooner we are notified, the better,” he said.
The fire district manager shared some fire prevention tips. In addition to having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, people should not use extension cords for permanent use and combustibles should be kept away from heating equipment. Homeowners also shouldn’t keep resetting a circuit breaker if it continuously trips and instead call an electrician. Circuit breakers trip when a faulty condition is recognized including the overheating of wires.
