2 Payloaders On Fire At Southold Transfer Station Blaze: Police

NORTH FORK, NY — A fire broke out at the Southold Town transfer station Saturday, police said.

According to Southold Town police, the fire began Saturday morning at about 5:36 a.m. at the facility, located on Cox Lane in Cutchogue.

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Southold Town police and the Cutchogue Fire Department responded to the report of the fire at the Southold Town transfer station, police said.

Upon arrival, responding units found a payloader fully engulfed in flames, police said.

The fire quickly spread to a second payloader parked adjacent to it, police said.

Firefighters from the Cutchogue, Southold, Mattituck, and Orient Fire Departments responded and extinguished the fire, police said.

Southold Town police detectives and the Suffolk County Police Department's arson squad are investigating the cause of the fire, police said.

According to the Cutchogue Fire Department, the call came in while a crew from the Cutchogue Fire Department was already assisting the Greenport Fire Department at the scene of a house fire that began earlier that morning.

Additional firefighters who were at the firehouse immediately responded — and a large column of smoke was visible from a distance, the CFD said.

Upon arrival, police and fire department units encountered the large payloader engulfed in flames; the fire was located adjacent to the main building used for trash disposal and quickly began spreading to a second payloader and a nearby truck, the CFD said.

The first arriving units attempted to control the fire using an aerial ladder and hand lines; due to limited water supply at the location, a mutual aid request was made for tanker trucks from the Mattituck, Orient, and Southold fire departments to provide additional water, the CFD said.

The Mattituck Fire Department also provided an additional engine and personnel to assist at the scene, the CFD said.

Because of the fire’s nature and the presence of flammable liquids in the machinery, a foam operation was initiated to fully extinguish the blaze, officials said.

Crews remained on scene for more than two-and-a-half hours before being released, the CFD said.

The Riverhead Fire Department was additionally requested to assist with an additional tanker, but was canceled once the situation was placed under control, the CFD said.

No injuries were reported; the recycling center was temporarily closed and reopened for normal business later in the morning, the CFD said.

"Thank you to all of the firefighters and first responders who responded to this morning's alarms," the CFD said Saturday.