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Smithtown Fire Department

Department chief Kevin Fitzpatrick presents a plaque to Hailee Hurtado July 6. Photo by Rita J. Egan

A 15-year-old’s heroic actions were recognized July 6 at Smithtown Fire Department’s main facility on Elm Avenue.

Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim talks about Hailee before he and councilmembers gave her and her sister Madison skateboards. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The fire department, elected officials and the Smithtown Children’s Foundation presented Hailee Hurtado with awards and presents for helping to save her entire family from a devastating house fire June 26. If her actions would have been delayed by a few minutes, the outcome could have ended in tragedy, according to the fire department’s public information officer Rick Torre.

“We can all agree today that Hailee’s quick instinct and fast actions define her today as a hero,” Torre said.

It was in the early morning hours of June 26 when Hailee thought she smelled smoke in her Stuyvesant Lane home. Her first response was to wake up her father, Jonathan Hurtado, who discovered there was a fire in the garage. As the father evacuated his wife, Evelyn, and younger daughter, Madison, Hailee ran downstairs for her grandmother. After getting his wife and younger daughter to safety, Jonathan Hurtado returned inside the house where he found Hailee downstairs assisting her grandmother who uses a cane.

When the family was all safe outside, the garage became engulfed in flames and the fire had spread up the exterior to the upper level. Despite the fire department responding in minutes, the home was left uninhabitable with the total destruction of all keepsakes, clothing and electronics.

Torre said while firefighters are trained and participate in drills, Hailee didn’t have that luxury.

“In the early morning hours of June 26, the skills of the classroom or drills didn’t come into play for Hailee Hurtado,” he said. “It was instinct.”

Department chief Kevin Fitzpatrick presented Hailee with a plaque, and she received accolades and certificates for her valor from Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY1), state Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) and Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R).

Hailee Hurtado, left, holds the plaque she received from the Smithtown Fire Department as Congressman Lee Zeldin (R) congratulates her on her bravery July 6. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Zeldin congratulated Hailee on her bravery and counted her among the town’s finest as several of the department’s firefighters were on hand for the event.

“It really says a lot about what Hailee did when you have hometown heroes calling you a hero,” he said.

John Kennedy said his office has internships and then handed Hailee his business card and said she was welcomed to call at any time if she were interested in interning in his office.

Wehrheim joked that Hailee asked her parents if she really had to attend, he said, “Now you know why you had to come.”

“The Hurtado family have lost their home, their memories and their keepsakes, but they still have each other thanks to Hailee doing the impossible,” Wehrheim said. “It’s a privilege to honor her today.”

After his speech, Wehrheim and councilmembers gave Hailee and her sister skateboards. Mario Mattera, who is running for State Senate in November and is the business agent for Local Plumbers Union 200, presented four bicycles for the whole family.

Christine Fitzgerald, co-founder of the Smithtown Children’s Foundation, said an iPhone 11 was on the way for Hailee. The foundation has provided relief for the family after the fire and neighbors have started a GoFundMe page to help.

While Hailee was too shy to speak, her father Jonathan Hurtado said the tragedy has been surreal, and he thanked his neighbors and the community, especially the firefighters for their quick response.

“It was apparent in that moment I didn’t know what to do with myself and my family,” he said.

The father said the family appreciated the help they have received and neighbors reaching out to check up on them.

“It was truly a blessing to see how everybody pitched in,” he said.

People wishing to help the Hurtados can visit GoFundMe.com and search Help the Hurtado Family.

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Girl Scout Troop 1781 donated a dozen stuffed Fire Truck Dalmatians to the Smithtown Fire Department on Dec. 28. The stuffed animals were purchased with funds raised during the troop’s fall nut and candy sale and will be used on the ambulances when treating young children. 

“Thank you Troop 1781! There’s nothing like receiving support for the community we care so much about!” said Chief Kevin Fitzpatrick. 

Pictured from left, Assistant Chief Patrick Diecidue, Girl Scouts Kate Hebron, Nadia Tomitz, Brianna Lynch, Sarah Johanson and Chief Fitzpatrick. Not pictured, Girl Scout Aubrey Horel.

Photos by Laura Johnson

 

The Smithtown Fire Department was dispatched at 5:36 p.m. Nov. 12 for a reported car crashing into a building with one person trapped at the CVS at 111 Terry Road just north of Route 347.

3rd Assistant Chief Dongvort, and the EMS Fire Responder were first on scene and found a single vehicle had crashed through the south side wall and was fully inside of the CVS pharmacy. The driver was treated for minor injuries and was transported to Stony Brook Hospital by Smithtown Fire Dept. Ambulance.

Members secured any hazards and the Town Building Department and Fire Marshal were requested to the scene to determine the structural stability of the building. Engines 1, 5 and Rescue 9 operated on scene along with Utility 4-2-19. Chief of Department Kevin Fitzpatrick declared the scene under control at around 6 p.m. and all units returned to service by 6:30 p.m.

Historic property once owned by the town's founding family burnt down to studs

A historic Smithtown mansion once inhabited by the descendants of founder Richard Smythe burned down to its studs Monday night, according to St. James Fire Department.

Suffolk County police received a call at 7:56 p.m. March 26 reporting a fully involved house fire on Edgewood Avenue in Smithtown, according to Kevin Barattini, spokesman for St. James Fire Department.

Smithtown Fire Department was first to respond to the scene and immediately reached out for mutual aid from Hauppauge, Kings Park, Nesconset, Nissequogue and St. James fire departments. The historic mansion was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived, according to Barattini, leaving them unable to enter the building.

“You could see this fire for miles,” he said. “It was amazing, that thing was glowing.”

The property was purchased March 8 by Richard Albano, owner of Richie’s Pizza in Commack and Deer Park, with the intent of restoring the nearly 175-year-old mansion to its original state.

“I’m absolutely devastated,” Albano said.

The new owner said the fire was heartbreaking, and was unable to talk about it any further Tuesday morning.

“I’m absolutely devastated.”
— Richard Albano

Albano began extensive renovations of the more than 11,000-square-foot mansion earlier this year after receiving permission from the previous owner to get started before the sale was final. The home’s 16 bedrooms, two kitchens, master ballroom, and numerous bathrooms had fallen into disrepair, but still contained many of the original fixtures, according to Albano.

“I feel a lot of passion for this home,” he told TBR News Media March 13. “I’m working on it every day, restoring it. My goal is to make it look as it was when it was brand new.”

According to “Colonel Rockwell’s Scrap-book,” published by the Smithtown Historical Society in 1968, the house was built around 1846. It once belonged to Obadiah Smith, a great-grandson of Smythe, before eventually becoming the homestead to Ethelbert Marshall Smith, another Smythe descendent, in 1877.

Albano had posted March 19 on Facebook that “the restoration is going great and today seemed like it was the [first] day that it felt as things were going back together instead of taking things apart.” He was preparing to install a new roof on the building.

“It’s very unfortunate as you have a guy who was restoring this property and you look forward to seeing it when you pass by it every day,” Barattini said.

The new owner had said he hoped to open the historic mansion for the public to view once it was fully restored. Though Albano has been purchasing, renovating and reselling properties for decades, he said his intention was to live in the Ebo Hill mansion once the project was completed.

There was no reported injuries and the fire is under investigation for unknown causes at this time.

File photo

Suffolk County Police 4th Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that seriously injured a woman in Smithtown early this morning, Dec. 14.

Cynthia Wilson was driving a 2007 Nissan Altima northbound on Terry Road when her vehicle struck a 2012 Honda Accord traveling eastbound on Jericho Turnpike at approximately 1 a.m. The collision caused the Nissan to crash into a building, located at 305 Jericho Turnpike.

Wilson, 22, of Brentwood, was transported by Smithtown Fire Department ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Honda, Carol Katz, 55, of Dix Hills, was transported by Smithtown Fire Department ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital with minor injuries.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the crash. The Smithtown building inspector was called to the scene to assess damage to the structure. Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on this crash to call the 4th Squad at 631-854-8452.

File photo

By Desirée Keegan

Suffolk County Police responded to an incident in which two Good Samaritans helped rescue a Mount Sinai man from a burning car after he crashed in Hauppauge July 19.

Paul Gross suffered an apparent medical incident and crashed into a tree in front on Townline Road at approximately 4:53 p.m. The car started to catch fire, and volunteer fireman Stephen Matteo, who heard the crash from his residence, rushed to the scene. Matteo flagged down a passing motorist, Edmund Quinones, to help pull the unconscious man out of his vehicle.

Matteo and other Good Samaritans provided medical care on the scene and helped revive Gross. Briana Stettner, 19, of Hauppauge, heard the crash and went in the intersection of Townline Road and Hoffman Lane and stopped traffic, so emergency vehicles could get to the scene.

Gross, 53, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by Smithtown Fire Department with several non-life-threatening injuries. Matteo, 31, of Hauppauge, and Quinones, 57, of Ronkonkoma, did not suffer injuries. The heat was so severe Matteo’s watch burned.

Smithtown Fire Department got a mother and her two children out of their house safely after it caught on fire last week. Photo from Smithtown

By Victoria Espinoza

Smithtown Fire Department responded to a smoke detector alarm coming from a residence in the early hours last Tuesday, Aug. 24.

The department got to a home on Sterling Lane at 3:11 a.m. Smithtown Third Assistant Chief Patrick Diecidue observed heavy smoke coming from the residence and quickly upgraded the call to a working structure fire.

With the possibility of residents in the home, Diecidue, along with the first responders on the scene, took out the front door and immediately proceeded to search the house. They were able to quickly remove a three-year-old girl from a bedroom and brought the child out for medical attention.

Additional arriving units continued the search and found a mother and her 3-month-old infant son on the bathroom floor. They were removed from the residence, and the department said they had inhaled a considerable amount of smoke and were in cardiac arrest.

While firefighters said the smoke was heavy, the fire was limited and quickly brought under control.

Members of the Hauppauge, Kings Park, St. James, and Nesconset fire departments responded to the scene to help, as well as the Central Islip-Hauppauge Volunteer Ambulance Corp.

The victims were treated on the scene and then transported by ambulance. The mother was initially taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown while the children were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital. The mother was later transferred to SBUH for additional care.

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The Stonebridge Country Club is doused in flames Tuesday night. Photo from Jeff Bressler

By Phil Corso

A brutal blaze overtook the Stonebridge Country Club in Smithtown on Thursday night.

Calls came into the Smithtown Fire Department around 6 p.m. for the fire at 2000 Raynors Way inside the country club’s maintenance shop and golf cart storage facility, a spokesman for the department said. It took several crews of emergency responders to battle the flames, but no one was injured in the incident, officials said.

The cause the fire was under investigation.

Firefighters battle the blaze at the Stonebridge Country Club. Photo by Jeff Bressler
Firefighters battle the blaze at the Stonebridge Country Club. Photo by Jeff Bressler

“Upon arrival at the scene, the alarm was quickly upgraded to a working structural fire,” said Jeff Bressler, public information officer for the Smithtown Fire Department. “The two-story building was fully engulfed in fire and exterior attack began to get it under control.”

Bressler said the building suffered major damage. Its upper level, which was used to store golf carts, was deemed a total loss. The lower level, which housed maintenance equipment, was also heavily damaged.

Firefighters knocked down the front entry of the building once the flames were under control and started searching the inside, where they found no one was in the building and there was no extension of the fire, Bressler said.

It took fire officials from Smithtown, Hauppauge and Nesconset’s fire departments and ambulance support from Central Islipe and Hauppauge’s volunteer ambulance groups.

This version corrects the day of the fire.