A firefighter battles a blaze in an outbuilding on Townline Road in...

A firefighter battles a blaze in an outbuilding on Townline Road in Hauppauge on Sunday. Credit: Joseph Sperber

Officials were investigating the cause of a Sunday morning fire that heavily damaged an outbuilding of a Hauppauge home that allegedly had been taken over by a squatter.

Hauppauge Fire Department Chief Christopher Crean said the cause of the fire appeared to be suspicious. Suffolk County arson investigators and the Town of Islip fire marshals are investigating.

Around 8 a.m. Sunday, Hauppauge firefighters arrived at the Townline Road home to find a storage structure behind the single-family home engulfed in flames. Firefighters brought the blaze under control within an hour.

The main home was not damaged by the fire, Crean said. Officials closed Townline Road between Terry and Mayfair roads as firefighters worked.

Firefighters brought the blaze in the storage building under control within...

Firefighters brought the blaze in the storage building under control within an hour. Credit: Joseph Sperber

"There appears to be a squatter on the property," Crean said, who added that person had occupied the main home. One firefighter sustained minor injuries and was treated on the scene, he said.

Police have not made any arrests.

What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

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