Town orders demo of fire-scarred Hauppauge condos

Smithtown is moving forward with plans to demolish two Hauppauge condos a fire destroyed in July, citing complaints from nearby residents about health concerns such as vermin on the properties.

The July 26 blaze broke out shortly before noon and ripped through the Plantation Drive units after starting in the rear of one of them, according to a Smithtown Fire Department report.

Town board members voted 5-0 at a meeting earlier this month to order the demolition.

Now the town is awaiting bids from demolition companies for the job, which are due by Jan. 30, according to Smithtown spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo.

She said Friday that the wood-frame units had adjoining walls, but wouldn't comment on the fire's possible cause except to say there was "active electrical, water and natural gas service to the structures at the time."

All residents had evacuated by the arrival of firefighters, who brought the blaze under control in about an hour, with one first responder needing treatment at the scene for heat exhaustion, the fire department report said.

Eric Fishon, who lives several houses away, spoke at a Dec. 28 public hearing about the fire-damaged units attracting rodents.

Other neighbors said they worried about how that problem and other health-related concerns could affect pets and children living nearby.

Assistant town attorney Martin Simon told the board at the December hearing that Smithtown officials in November had reached the owner of one of the condos, Donna Berk, and issued her a notice to repair, remediate or demolish the structure.

The town tried in November to contact Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, which owns the other unit. But Simon said the corporation didn't respond to inquiries and "has taken zero interest in this."

Berk, 66, a retired teacher displaced after the fire, said at the hearing she tried to sell her property to at least two investors. But she said because it shares a wall with the other damaged unit, she needed to get in contact with Freddie Mac, and couldn't.

“My hands are tied at the moment. I don't know what steps to take," she added. 

Berk couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

A Freddie Mac representative said Friday that the company hadn't been able to move forward on the matter due to previous litigation involving the property that now has concluded.