A fast response by volunteer firefighters prevented a raging fire from destroying multiple residences at the Maidstone Landing condominium complex Thursday afternoon.
The first Jamesport Fire Department firefighters to arrive on scene shortly after 3 p.m. found flames coming through the roof of 80 Water Way, a two-story attached dwelling in the Sound-front community. See prior story.
Jamesport chiefs knew what they had to do to get the fire under control: They brought in not only their own tanker, but tanker trucks from Riverhead, Wading River, Flanders, Mattituck and Southold.
“It’s a nightmare up here,” Jamesport Fire Department Chief Sean McCabe said at the scene of the devastating fire Thursday evening, about an hour after he declared the fire under control.
Firefighters were still at work “cleaning up” at 6 p.m. and McCabe had nothing but praise for their effort.
“I was never happy with how these units were constructed,” McCabe said. “They’re all trussed and the trusses allow the fire to travel from one unit to another,” he said.
In addition, water pressure at the hydrants in the road is inadequate to battle a blaze, McCabe said. Jamesport firefighters knew they’d have to call in tanker trucks from surrounding departments in order to knock down such a blaze. And that’s exactly what they did.
“We preplanned for this event,” McCabe said. “We practiced. And the plan worked very well,” he said.
“We anticipated it would be a challenge to keep the water supply up here. The water supply is such a distance from the road and the size of the main won’t provide adequate pressure,” he said.
“Having the tankers was crucial. One of the first things we did was call in the tankers,” he said.
“It was a very quick response all the way around,” Jamesport First Assistant Chief John Andrejack. “That’s what helped us keep this to just one unit.”
The attached unit, number 79, sustained some fire damage and smoke damage, Andrejack said.
“Firefighters made an interior attack and there was a structural collapse,” Andrejack said. The roof caved in and part of a wall.
“They did an excellent job,” McCabe said. “That’s what we train for.”
McCabe said the occupants of unit number 80 — a mother and her adult daughter — told him they had lit the gas fireplace in their unit and were alerted by landscapers that the outside wall was on fire. They ran out of the home and called the fire department, he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Riverhead Fire Marshal David Andruskiewicz said tonight.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
Top photo caption: Jamesport volunteer firefighters battle a blaze at a condominium unit at Maidstone Landing Thursday afternoon prior to the arrival of tanker trucks.
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