Official: Fire at Melville home for disabled appears to be accidental

The Melville Fire Department needed about a half-hour Monday morning to extinguish a blaze at a Melville home for disabled residents, a fire official said.

Firefighters responded to a fire at the home on Old South Path at about 8:15 a.m., according to a department spokesman. The state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities operates the home.

Melville Fire Chief Jason Bernfeld said three residents and four employees at the home already had been evacuated when firefighters arrived.

The fire was in the basement, and 40 firefighters using five trucks were able to contain it to that area, Bernfeld said.

The Huntington Manor, Dix Hills and East Farmingdale fire departments also responded, Bernfeld said.

There were no injuries.

The cause appears to be accidental but it is being jointly investigated by fire marshals from the Melville Fire District, the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control and the Suffolk County police’s arson squad.