On April 13, the Sayville Fire Department was toned out for multiple reports of a structure fire at a commercial building at 85 South Main Street. Chief Lawrence Sesso arrived on scene and observed heavy smoke pushing out the front of the building and heavy fire on the right side of the building.
Sayville volunteer firefighters quickly extinguished the fire while West Sayville's crew performed ventilation operations. Firefighters from each department teamed up during overhaul operations to ensure that there was no more fire hidden beneath debris, within walls, floors and ceilings. Community Ambulance was also on scene should any firefighters or civilians require medical assistance.
Sayville and its surrounding volunteer fire departments have a mutual aid plan, which was successfully put into action for this alarm. The West Sayville Fire Department was automatically called in for assistance. Chief Sesso then requested that Bayport be called in to act as a FAST (Firefighter Assistance Safety Team) and that Bohemia be called in for additional manpower. Shortly after, Blue Point was called in to standby at Sayville's Headquarters to cover any alarms that come in while their firefighters are at the scene of this fire.
Some might wonder why so much manpower and equipment would be called in from neighboring towns. In this case, the fire was at the far end of an old commercial building that was in very close proximity to other buildings, and the potential for fire spreading quickly to other businesses was very high. In addition, manpower response during the middle of the day due to volunteers' works schedules can be lower. The call for mutual aid ensured that sufficient manpower and equipment was on scene and available to jump in and work seamlessly with Sayville's firefighters.
The mutual aid plan among neighboring departments has been put into successful action on many occasions. There is a wonderful spirit of teamwork, mutual respect and a willingness of officers and firefighters to help each other get the job done safely and efficiently.
