Volunteer firefighter: 'I've never seen anything this big'

Michael Wiwczar has fought fires for 54 years, but what swept through Suffolk Monday was a first even for him.

"I've never seen anything this big," said the honorary chief from Wading River, standing near a Manorville home overtaken by fast, wind-driven flames. "It's just a tremendous fire."

Not since the 1995 Sunrise Highway fire has Long Island seen burning so wide, and a response so large. Officials said 109 Suffolk fire agencies and 15 from Nassau, plus the National Guard, were on scene at various points of the afternoon and evening.

That translated to several hundred volunteers, all struggling fatigue and limited supplies. At a Ridge gas station in the early evening, firefighters snatched quick moments of rest, talking to one another about the thick smoke and "very, very rough" conditions.

Bud Mazura, an Eastport firefighter, said the company's brush truck, which can drive through brush with water to douse flames, went through 3,000 gallons of water and 40 gallons of foam while battling the blaze. "At one point we were four [brush truck crews] in tandem," he said. "Everywhere you went, there was fire here, fire here."

He said 15-20 brush trucks from across the Island worked to control the fire. "When the chips are down everybody just comes."

In a Manorville backyard, a team of firefighters from East Brentwood hosed down a smoldering pile of tree stumps -- a common scene Monday.

"It was a big red glow," said Capt. Erik Vasquez of the East Brentwood Fire Department. "This is just a minute part of the whole thing."

Joe Trzepizur, assistant chief of the Lakeland Fire Department, said crews would remain on rotation through the night to put out dozens of small, smoldering fires. "Every couple of hours we're putting fresh bodies in," he said. "We're going to be here all night . . . There's a lot of mopping up to do. It's going to take a while."