West Babylon fire that displaced 50 likely started in 2nd floor unit, town says

A fast-moving fire that displaced 50 residents of a Fairfield apartment complex in West Babylon most likely started in a second-floor unit before spreading to several others, Babylon Town spokesperson Ryan Bonner told Newsday on Wednesday.

The cause of the fire Tuesday evening at the Fairfield Suburbia Gardens on Great East Neck Road remains under investigation, said Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Rudy Sunderman on Wednesday. One West Babylon firefighter who responded to the 7:29 p.m. call was treated for minor injuries at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, he said.

Two residents with minor injuries were also taken to Good Samaritan, Sunderman said. Their status was not immediately clear Wednesday.

The building residents were still out of their apartments Wednesday. Some were staying with friends or relatives, he said, while others found temporary housing through the Red Cross and the Suffolk County Department of Social Services.

Bonner told Newsday in an email Wednesday that initial indications from fire marshals were that the fire began in the end unit on the second floor and directly affected four units in that building.

He said the project manager for the site has been asked to supply an engineer's report to the town so inspectors can determine whether or not the exterior wall structure has been compromised.

Bonner said town inspector Kevin Saturno also had requested a fire underwriter's report, so inspectors could make a determination on "electrical issues" related to the four damaged units.

A request by Newsday seeking comment from Fairfield management was not answered Wednesday.

Firefighters from the West Babylon Fire Department arrived to the complex to find flames in one of its three buildings there, department Chief William Allen told Newsday at the scene late Tuesday.

Nearby Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church served as a command post and staging area for the more than 100 firefighters from 13 departments who responded to the fire, Allen said. They extinguished the blaze after an hour. The first firefighters on scene initially struggled to access the building because of snow, ice and vehicles in the parking lot.

Two second-story units were ravaged by fire, while water and smoke damaged the two units directly below, Allen said. Another eight units had smoke damage. Power was cut off to the entire building, making it uninhabitable.

Sunderman told Newsday that town building inspectors would decide when residents could return.

Christine Driscoll, her husband Brian, and their son, Sean, 25, stayed at a friend's house Tuesday evening after evacuating their unit with just their coats, wallets and a few other essentials and coming out into the subfreezing cold.

On Wednesday afternoon, Christine Driscoll told Newsday her son was able to enter the apartment to retrieve her medication and that the family is hoping to return Thursday to get some clothes.

The family endured a similar situation in October 2024, when a fire tore through their prior house in Farmingdale. They ultimately sold the home, Driscoll said.

Newsday's Robert Brodsky contributed to this story.