Firefighters keep eye on scene of brush fires

The morning after battling a wild brush fire that ranged in spots from Cold Spring Harbor State Park to Syosset, firefighters were back on the scene Thursday, fearful the blazes could reignite.

Volunteers from 28 departments in Nassau and Suffolk fought the fires, which kept touching off and spreading because of dry conditions, officials said. Four firefighters - two from Bethpage, two from Syosset - were transported to Huntington Hospital suffering from dehydration, officials said.

The fire was reported at 11:30 a.m., according to Suffolk fire officials. The last firefighters left the scene at 9:30 p.m.

Departments included: Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Huntington, Dix Hills, Centerport, Babylon, Melville, Port Washington, Elmont, Garden City, Woodmere, Manhasset, South Farmingdale, Freeport, North Merrick, Bethpage and Syosset, officials said.

In a separate incident, a firefighter from North Babylon suffered second- and third-degree burns Wednesday when a fire engine valve spewed hot steam onto his chest and arms as he fought a fire at a landfill in East Northport.

The volunteer, whose identity was not released, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center and was reported in stable condition. How the firefighter became injured is still under investigation.

With Reid J. Epstein