Fire destroys home for 25 people in Bay Shore, officials say
Firefighters battle an inferno at a home on Arizona Avenue in Bay Shore that broke out around 1:20 p.m. on Friday, March 24, 2017. The 25 occupants of the home escaped the blaze without injury, authorities said. Credit: James Carbone
A Bay Shore home housing 25 people was destroyed in a Friday inferno that took almost two hours and six fire departments to bring under control, authorities said.
No one was injured in the fire that broke out just before 1:20 p.m. at a large, two-floor Arizona Avenue residence, according to officials from the Brentwood Fire Department and Suffolk police.
The first crews encountered heavy fire on the second floor and parts of the first floor, First Assistant Chief Michael Derbyshire said in a news release.
“Efforts were hampered with high winds that drove the fire throughout the house,” he said.
The house became completely engulfed by flames, police said.
The blaze was brought under control about 1 hour and 45 minutes later by about 75 firefighters from Brentwood, Bay Shore, Central Islip, Commack, Islip and Islip Terrace worked to put out the flames, the assistant fire chief said. Brentwood Legion Ambulance was on standby, he said.
The Red Cross and Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management are assisting the home’s residents, fire officials said.
The cause if the fire is being investigated by the police arson squad and the Islip Town fire marshal’s office, Derbyshire said.
Other details were not immediately available late Friday night.
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