| In the middle of a wicked storm that most people took cover for on August 18th, Sayville volunteer firefighters responded to an alarm for a reported structure fire caused by a lightning strike on Hampton Street at 9:40pm.
Firefighters were already at the scene of another alarm just a few blocks away when the alarm came in. 1st Asst. Chief Michael Butler responded to the second alarm and could see the flames coming from the roof as he rounded the corner. All manpower was immediately directed to respond to the scene of the house fire as Sayville's Chief Tom Pantano confirmed that the first alarm was under control.
The homeowner was at home at the time of the lightning strike and immediately knew her house was on fire. Fortunately, she was able to exit the home on her own. She stood across the street and watched approximately 75 firefighters from Sayville, Bayport Holbrook and West Sayville working together to save her house.
While firefighters' first priority was to safely and efficiently contain and extinguish the fire in the attic and second floor bedroom, they were also mindful of the extensive damage that the fire itself and firefighting efforts causes (water, debris, soot, etc.). Once the fire was under control, firefighters were assigned to cover furniture on the first floor to minimize damage.
Sayville's Chief Thomas Pantano said, "I am very proud of all of the volunteer firefighters that responded to the scene. We may be four separate fire departments, but we all work together seamlessly when we need to". He also praised Bohemia Fire Department members for standing by at Sayville's headquarters to handle any additional alarms.
With the exception of one Sayville firefighter sustaining an ankle injury, everyone went home safe and firefighters were back home by around 1AM. |
