Firefighters Tackle Blaze In Dune Road Garage

QUOGUE, NY — Firefighters tackled a blaze in a Quogue garage on Dune Road Wednesday, officials said.

According to the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, the Quogue Fire Department was called for a structure fire on Dune Road shortly after noon. The Westhampton Beach Fire Department also responded as mutual aid.

The fire was called in by a passerby and was verified shortly after by Quogue Village Police Department officers and by Ted Jankowski, the chief of the East Quogue Fire Department, who happened to be in the vicinity, officials said.

Quogue Second Assistant Chief Dave Schaffauer and Westhampton Beach Second Assistant Chief Larry Saccente arrived at the same time, and reported heavy black smoke coming from a garage attached to a pool house near the front of the oceanside property.

A Westhampton Beach engine arrived a few minutes after the chiefs, followed shortly by a Quogue engine and Quogue Chief Mike Nelson, who assumed command, officials said.

Firefighters were able to force open the garage doors and pour water on the fire, which was contained to the garage area, officials said. The volunteers were hampered by the dense smoke and by numerous pieces of outdoor furniture, a barbecue grill, and other items that were being stored in the garage for the winter, they added.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but the firefighters had to spend the next hour and a half doing overhaul, which entailed tearing out sheetrock and wood roof shingles in search of residual pockets of fire, officials said.

The Westhampton Beach Fire Department responded with three chiefs, an engine, and fire police. Quogue responded with three engines, four chiefs, and two fire police vehicles. The East Quogue Fire Department sent one engine and two chiefs. The Westhampton War Memorial Ambulance, the Flanders Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Company, the Quogue Village Police Department, and the Westhampton Village Police Department were also on scene, as were the Southampton Town fire marshal and a Suffolk County Fire and Rescue coordinator, officials said.

Dune Road was closed in both directions for the duration of the incident. There were no reported injuries, officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.