Sag Harbor Fire Still Under Investigation, Answers May Take 'Some Time': Police Chief

SAG HARBOR, NY — The cause of a fire that ravaged Main Street in Sag Harbor is still under investigation, according to Sag Harbor Village Police Chief AJ McGuire.

Published media reports that the fire might have been caused by a cigarette are "not true at all. . .a misunderstanding," McGuire said.

The fire, he said, is "still an open investigation and may take some time. So it is undetermined and non-criminal at this time."

The fire was deemed recently not to be arson, according to McGuire.

"It was absolutely, 100 percent not arson," McGuire said Monday,

Sag Harbor police are waiting for a final report from the East Hampton Town fire marshal and Suffolk County Police arson squad, with the exact cause to be determined.

Reflecting on Friday's massive blaze, McGuire praised the Sag Harbor Fire Department and all the departments who rushed to the scene from Eastport to Montauk, as well as Flanders and Riverhead, to help. Numerous EMS crews also turned out en masse to offer assistance, he said.

"It was a very difficult scene to manage because it was so dynamic. Conditions deteriorated quickly, and then the twist, with it being 15 degrees with ice everywhere," McGuire said.

Firefighters stood under hoses pouring water that "turned to ice immediately," he said.

"The firefighters did a tremendous job, getting it to stop where it stopped. This really could have been horrific," McGuire said.

Had the fire started even an hour earlier, and not been reported by Sag Harbor Village Police Officer Randy Steyert, McGuire said, "We might have had a fatality."

Steyert, he said, knocked on the door of a tenant, Michael Lynch, living in an apartment above the Compass real estate building, to the right of the Sag Harbor cinema.

Lynch shared the story of his harrowing escape with Patch.

Lynch's roommate Fred Kumwenda was not home, but also lost everything in the blaze.

The lobby of the Sag Harbor Cinema was demolished Saturday; but the sign and the building behind the lobby, which housed the seats and screen, was saved.

Despite "horrible" conditions, McGuire said the response from firefighters across the East End was amazing and a testament to the dedication of the many volunteers who risk their lives to save others.

Patch photo courtesy of Arnold Tilton.