Sag Harbor Fire Investigation Concludes, No Cause Determined: Fire Marshal

SAG HARBOR, NY — An investigation into the fire that ravaged Main Street in Sag Harbor has concluded — and the answer to what sparked the devastating blaze may never be known, according to East Hampton Town Fire Marshal Thomas Baker.

Baker told Patch in a phone interview that as far as he is concerned, the investigation has finished, "unless someone comes forward with information. There's not much more we can do."

Clues to what sparked the blaze may have been revealed in the former Compass real estate building, but the structure was razed, as was the Sag Harbor Cinema, he said.

While there was a barbecue on a back deck, there was no fuel tank with the grill, he said. And, as for the theory that it might have been a cigarette butt, Baker said, "We found cigarette butts everywhere in Sag Harbor. We can't pinpoint the fire to a cigarette — and we found burning in places where a cigarette couldn't have gotten."

The fact remains, Baker said, that with the buildings gone, "There's nothing more to look at it. All I'm doing now is poring back over, and putting together, pictures, as best I can."

He said he's worked with Sag Harbor Senior Building Inspector Thomas Preiato, the Suffolk County Arson squad, and another inspector, but, "Those two buildings were the key pieces."

It was discovered early on, Baker said, that the fire was not arson. "We discovered very quickly that there was no criminality," he said. "It was just one of those accidental fires. It happens. And around the holidays, it always hurts."

The fire, he said, began in the rear behind the Compass building. "It wasn't in the theater, it wasn't in the Compass building itself, and it wasn't in the coffee shop. It was at the rear of the Compass building, on the back steps," he said.

Baker said a decision to cut off power "possibly spoiled evidence" that may have held clues to the fire, but he said the move was critical to saving the lives of the firefighters on the scene.

"We had 300 firefighters there. It was my decision to shut the power down, to protect everyone," he said.

Despite the dangers, Baker said firefighters and EMTS, coated with ice in the frigid pre-dawn hours, never wavered from their mission.

"Nobody was complaining. No one wanted to go home unless the job was done," he said.

Although the scale of the damage was massive, there was only one fire, Baker said. "Everything else was collateral damage," including damage to other buildings due to water and smoke.

Sag Harbor Village Police Chief AJ McGuire said he could not comment because he has not seen a report yet.

Hope rises

Looking ahead, Baker said he has hope that perhaps one day the beloved Sag Harbor facade can be recreated.

"Sag Harbor is a resilient little community that will bounce back just fine. And hopefully now we'll have a safer village because of it."

The spirit of the village was found among residents who've offered displaced workers new jobs until their businesses re-open, Baker said.

And on the brutally cold and icy day of the blaze, human kindness warmed hearts, Baker said. People brought food, coffee, donuts, support, he added.

"One guy dropped a big box on the street and it was filled with new gloves, underwear, socks. These are the kinds of things guys on the front lines need. I don't know if he was a firefighter or just Joe Public — he didn't say anything, just left the box and turned around," he said.

Soon after the fire Sag Harbor McGuire confirmed, too, that the fire was deemed not to be arson, according to McGuire.

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

Reflecting on the 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; 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 courtesy photo.