Two injured in early morning North Babylon house fire, chief says

Two people were injured in an early morning North Babylon house fire on Sunday that spread to a minivan, a garage and to portions of a structure next door, fire officials said.

North Babylon Fire Chief Robert J. Cabano said the blaze started about 2:30 a.m. at a one-story wood frame house at 918 Sunrise Hwy. He said that when firefighters arrived, the house and minivan in the driveway of an attached garage were engulfed by flames and the exterior of a two-story structure that was a combined rental unit and insurance company at 922 Sunrise Hwy. was starting to burn.

"It was pretty heavy with fire upon arrival," Cabano said. He said a man who was inside the home but was not identified jumped out of a back window to safety and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip. His condition was unknown.

The chief said another unidentified person at the scene was also injured, but the nature of that person's injuries was unknown and the person declined medical treatment.

Cabano said the house where the fire originated and the car outside the garage were destroyed in the blaze and that there was extensive damage to the other structure.

The cause and origin of the blaze are being investigated by the Suffolk County police arson squad and the North Babylon fire marshal's office.

Cabano said the fire took about 40 minutes to bring under control with the assistance of the West Islip and Bay Shore fire departments.