Cops: Fire at Knockouts bar started by plumber

A Bohemia restaurant and bar burned Friday morning in a blaze that was caused by a plumber and that at one point sent firefighters in search of a missing colleague, authorities said.

The 9 a.m. blaze at Knockouts Restaurant and Bar on Lakeland Avenue sent at least one firefighter to the hospital to be checked out as a precaution, Suffolk police said.

Before 11 a.m., reports from the scene were that a firefighter was missing inside the structure. Citing the ongoing situation, police and fire officials were unable to immediately provide a detailed account of what happened -- or if a firefighter had been trapped and rescued.

But by 11:15 a.m., all firefighters on scene were located after there was concern one had gone missing.

"Everybody is accounted for," a fire official told Newsday at that time.

Volunteers from Bohemia, Sayville, West Sayville, Holbrook and East Islip fire departments responded to the scene.

Arson detectives responded and did not find the cause of the fire suspicious, police said. It was accidentally started by a plumber doing soldering work, police said.

Police said roads in the area had been closed, including northbound Smithtown Avenue to Lakeland and southbound Lakeland.