Officials: Fire breaks out at Oakdale storage facility

A fire erupted in a two-story building at an Oakdale self-storage facility on Thursday afternoon, with the contents of six units burned or damaged by smoke and water, officials said.

Five fire departments responded to the blaze at Oakdale Self Storage and had it under control in about 90 minutes, said West Sayville Fire Chief Todd Gray.

“Everything went well,” he said, noting no injuries were reported.

Police said the fire was reported at 2:55 p.m.

As many as 50 to 60 firefighters painstakingly sorted through the contents of the six units to ensure there were no hidden fires, Gray said.

“That’s labor-intensive, especially as people put as much stuff as they can in some of the units,” he said.

Flames caused “heavy damage” to whatever was stored in four of the units, Gray said, and the contents of the other two were damaged by water and smoke.

In addition to clothing, construction equipment had been stored, Gray said, adding that Suffolk police will investigate what caused the fire.

The Town of Islip’s building inspectors will have to ensure the building is safe, Gray said, noting the concrete floor on the second floor suffered structural damage.

The fire’s intense heat, followed by the “rapid cooling” of the water caused “spalling” or cracking, he said.

Paul Thompson, who owns the storage facility at 1625 Montauk Hwy., saluted the firefighters for their work.

The storage units range in size, and customers are allowed to store whatever they like, often summer or winter clothing — but nothing flammable, such as gasoline or propane, he said.

Firefighters were departing shortly before 6 p.m., he said later.

The blaze forced Suffolk police to temporarily close part of Montauk Highway. That route later was reopened, along with Exit 46A of eastbound Sunrise Highway, which also had been shut.