Here’s what’s happening in and around Lake Grove

SUV slams into tree on Oak Street @ PHR

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:18:51 -0500

0218 Hours. Ronkonkoma Fire Department responds to an MVA near the intersection of Patchogue Holbrook Road and Oak Street.

Units arrive to find a Land Rover that left the roadway and slammed into a tree. The injured driver was trapped and was extricated by the FD.

The victim was then transported to a local hospital by FD EMS.

Click on the picture above for more photos from the scene.
Photos by Vinny Diaz Jr.

Minor garage fire in Nesconset

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:11:08 -0500

2012 Hours. Nesconset fire department was dispatched on a telephone alarm from a homeowner on Alexander Avenue reporting that a carbon monoxide detector was sounding in their home. Less two minutes later, 4-2-0 advised responding units of a second unrelated call reporting smoke pouring out of a house on the same street but 10 houses south of the initial location.

Arriving Chief’s advised of a working fire in a garage at the second location and had all units divert to the scene. An effective attack was initiated. Two hand-lines were stretched and the fire was extinguished with tank water from one engine.

Saint James Fire Department was dispatched to cover the CO call and also sent a ladder to the fire. Centereach sent a RIT to the fire and an ambulance to Nesconset’s main. Ronkonkoma fire department also sent an engine to the fire. Centereach was released on arrival and Ronkonkoma was cancelled en-route.

The Smithtown Fire Marshals office investigated the fire and determined that it was the result of careless discarding of smoking materials.

There was no structural damage, minor damage contents in the garage and the occupants were not displaced.

Fire knocks out power to Sears service center.

Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:56:02 -0500

The Centereach Fire Department responds to a telephone alarm reporting a manhole fire in the parking lot of the Smithaven Mall.

Arriving units found a smoldering fire in an electrical vault on the South side of the Sears Service Center. FD units staged at a safe distance and the area was cordoned off with barricades and caution tape.

While waiting for LIPA, manpower from Engines 6, 9, Ladder 5 and Rescue 4 stood by with dry chemical extinguishers, monitored the Sears Service center and Sears store for CO and fire. cut power to the service wires in the pit and controlled access to the area.

LIPA arrived and although the manhole was private, they checked to confirm that the lines were dead.

A private electrician was called by Sears to make the necessary repairs.

The Sears Service Center was ordered to remain closed by the Lake Grove Fire Marshal until such time as the fire alarm and exit/emergency lighting could be restored.

Click on the photo above for more pictures from the scene.

Single car MVA leads to DWI charge.

Sat, 8 Jan 2011 09:58:05 -0500

The Centereach Fire Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on Hawkins Avenue and Michael Court in Lake Grove.

Units arrived to find that a pickup truck left the roadway striking a utility pole and coming to rest on the front lawn of a residence.

After a search of the area, the female driver was located at a house down the block and transported to Stony Brook Hospital with a hand injury.

The victim was arrested at the hospital for DWI.

Click on the photo above for more pictures from the scene.

Propane tank found leaking in Toys R Us

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 17:12:04 -0500

0805 Hours. The Centereach Fire Department was dispatched on a telephone alarm reporting a gas leak in the building at the Toys/Babies R Us store on Middle Country Road at Moriches Road in Lake Grove.

The Lake Grove Fire Marshal was first in and found numerous employees and police officers standing in the building. When approached, the cops told the Fire Marshal that there was a propane tank leaking in a bathroom hallway in the West side of the store.

The Fire Marshal found a 20 pound cylinder sitting in a shopping cart outside the bathroom. The Fire Marshal ordered everyone out of the building and immediately relocated the tank out of the structure to a remote area of the parking lot.

While the Fire Marshal attempted to stop the leak, firefighters from Centereach Engine’s 9 and 12 metered the building and secured the area. The Marshal determined that the tank was overfilled and leaking from the relief valve. A decision was made to remove the supply hose from a floor stripping machine, connect it to the tank and bleed down the liquid/vapor.

The Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshals office was requested to assist the village Fire Marshal and provide additional equipment if needed (burn off kit)

The tank was safely bled off. With the liquid/vapor level reduced, the relief valve closed. The tank was checked for any leaks with none found. The tank was then returned to the floor stripping contractor who was ordered to remove it from the property.

Fire department responds to Toys R Us again, this time for a report of a natural gas leak

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 11:09:40 -0500

The Centereach fire department was dispatched on a telephone alarm reporting a natural gas leak inside the Toys R Us store in Lake Grove. The same caller also reported that there was a victim of some sort in the building.

First Assistant Chief Steve Corvaia was the incident commander and ordered units to meter the building, determine the source of the leak and terminate the gas.

Centereach EMS treated and transported an adult female employee who was sick and vomiting. No other employees complained of any problems.

While there was an odor of some sort in the building, it was not natural gas. The rooftop HVAC units were checked with negative problems noted. No problems were found within the store. With no hazard found, the store was turned back over to management who were advised to contact their maintenance people to investigate further.

Nesconset sends a RIT to Hauppauge

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 13:26:11 -0500

2104 Hours. The Hauppauge Fire Department holds the proud distinction of hosting the first working fire in Suffolk County for 2011.

Hauppauge Fire Department was dispatched on a phone alarm reporting a house fire on Rose Street of Parkway Gardens (one block west of station #2). First in was district Fire Marshal Greg Gottlieb who confirmed a working fire in a private dwelling.

Chief of Department Ray Germaine was the incident commander with Chief’s Furuno and Oliver also on scene.

The fire which reportedly started in an attached garage, did considerable damage to the structure A vehicle parked in front of the garage suffered extensive damage to the front end. Hauppauge operated with manpower from 5 engines, 1 ladder and 1 heavy rescue. Smithtown sent an engine to the scene and Nesconset sent a RIT. Commack covered the district for the duration of the alarm.

One firefighter was transported to the hospital with a knee injury by Central Islip Hauppauge Ambulance.

The Hauppauge Fire District and Islip Town Fire Marshals are handling the investigation.

Click on the photo above for more pictures from the scene.
All photos by Greg Gottlieb and Craig Jackson and are not to be used without their permission.

30,000 gallon buried propane tank leak behind Kohl’s

Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:14:30 -0500

0113 Hours. While making a delivery at the Kohls Store on Montauk Highway in Shirley, the operator of a propane delivery truck noticed that the underground tank he was filling was leaking. Thinking quickly, the operator shut down his truck and called 911.

The Mastic Fire Department arrived and immediately requested mutual aid from the surrounding departments as well as the Brookhaven Town Fire Marshals Haz-Mat Team.

Once the scope of the leak was determined, an evacuation area was developed and additional fire police and police officers were called.

Mutual aid was requested from as far west as Deer Park and east into Southampton Town. Ronkonkoma and Nesconset sent engines to staging and while Centereach was initially called for fire police, they were cancelled en-route. In all, roughly 50 fire departments and 15 ambulance corps were involved in this incident.

The incident was mitigated and most residents were back in their homes by midnight on January 2nd.

All photos by Dennis Whittam and are not to be used without his permission.

Click on the photo above for more pictures from the scene

MVA with overturn at Portion Road and Patchogue Holbrook Road

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:00:54 -0500

Ronkonkoma Fire Department was dispatched to an MVA at Patchogue Holbrook Road and Portion. Units arrived to find one of the vehicles overturned with the victims still within. Quick work by the members had everyone out and transported to Stony Brook Hospital.

Photo taken by David Rubin and appears on Newsday.com

Oil burner problem on Stony Brook Road

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:21:53 -0500

1618 Hours. Centereach Fire Department was dispatched to a report of smoke in a house on Stony Brook Road near Pine Street.

Units arrived to find a malfunctioning oil burner resulting in a moderate to heavy smoke condition in the house and high carbon monoxide readings.

The burner was shut down and the house ventilated for almost an hour to bring the CO levels down from 1600ppm to near zero. Other than an odor of smoke, there was no damage to the structure or contents.

Once readings were within normal limits the house was turned back over to the property owner but not before she was admonished by the Fire Marshal for not having working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the house.

1st Assistant Chief Steve Corvaia was the incident commander and had at his disposal 3 engines, 1 quint, 1 heavy rescue, an ambulance and fire police.

Note: The alarm was reported by a 14 year old occupant of the building. The child arrived home and noticed smoke pushing out from a window and the attic vents. He unlocked and opened the front door just enough to let his dog out then closed the house up again. He retreated to the mailbox and called 911 via his cell phone. This young man did everything right and kept his cool. Nice job.

Lessons learned here
1-Maintain your boiler. The Fire Marshal found no record of boiler maintenance and the unit was not well maintained.

2-The fire departments visit the schools and do a great job with fire prevention. It is important and its nice to see that their work paid off. Talk to your kids about fire safety as they probably know more than you do.

3-The law requires that every dwelling unit have and maintain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. This house had none. If this incident had occurred at night, the occupant of the basement would have died and the others living upstairs may not have made it either.
Detectors are ten dollars and some fire departments just give them and batteries away. Buy them, put em up and change the batteries every Christmas Day.
If you have questions, call your local fire department or fire marshals office. We are all here to help.

Click on the link above for more pictures from the scene.