Fires damage 2 carriage houses in Bay Shore

Two Bay Shore carriage houses more than 100 years old on adjacent properties caught fire early Sunday, and one of them burned to the ground.

Firefighters were called to 68 Awixa Ave. at 2:10 a.m. because a carriage house was fully engulfed in flames, said Assistant Chief Roy Ekelund of the Bay Shore Fire Department.

When they arrived, he said, they found the structure and a carriage house on the property next door both burning. Firefighters found no outward signs of arson, Ekelund said.

"It is suspicious that we had two next to each other burning," Ekelund said. "It wasn't an easy jump if it did jump."

Suffolk County police later said it appeared the fire at 60 Awixa Ave. was started by embers from the original fire at 68 Awixa Ave., about 250 feet away. The Suffolk police arson squad is investigating.

Both buildings were unoccupied, Ekelund said, and neither had a smoke alarm system.

Barrett Carroll, 46, was at home with his father, Walter Carroll, 76, at 68 Awixa Ave., less than about 100 feet from the carriage house in the backyard of the nearly 2-acre property, when the fire began.

"It's unbelievable how quickly it burned," he said.

Carroll said he saw embers swirling around their carriage house, and the 911 dispatcher advised him to go to the front of his property. The other carriage house sits on a 2.8-acre property and is set back from the house by about 150 feet.

Carroll said his home wasn't affected and they didn't lose anything of great value - just a lawn tractor and gardening items.

"But there are a lot of memories," he said. "When I was a kid, that was the 'clubhouse' for all of my friends. It's sad."

Carroll said his carriage house dates to about 1902. The neighboring one, on a property up for sale, is even older, dating to 1878, according to real estate listings.

Firefighters from the Bay Shore, Islip, West Islip, East Islip and Brentwood fire departments subdued the flames in about two hours, Ekelund said.