January 4, 2012 0300 hours. One firefighter passed out early yesterday after battling a fire that damaged a line of stores on East Main Street in Smithtown, Suffolk County fire officials said.
The Smithtown Fire Department volunteer was given oxygen at the scene and recovered, said Steven Sisino, first assistant fire chief.
“It was just exhaustion,” the chief said. “He got weak and passed out.”
Electrical wiring appeared to have shorted at the Artful Dodger pub, causing flames to break out about 2:30 a.m., Sisino said. The Smithtown Fire Marshal is looking into the exact cause, he said.
The pub was closed, but a manager was inside at the time and was not injured, Sisino said: “He didn’t even realize the place was on fire right away.”
A passerby reported the fire about 2:30 a.m., the assistant chief said.
“It started inside underneath the wiring – there might have been an old sign that they had taken out,” Sisino said. “It spread to the roof and burned through the ceiling joists.”
The pub opened Dec. 17, according to its Facebook page. Other stores damaged included Cornet Music and Jacke & Co. hair salon.
Sisino said the cold and wind made it hard to put out the fire. “The water was freezing on contact on the pavement,” he said. A few firefighters slipped, he said, and the water iced on the roof and other hard surfaces.
At the time, it was about 14 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Upton.
Fire officials said at least 60 volunteers from seven departments – Smithtown, Commack, Hauppauge, Kings Park, St. James, Nesconset and Central Islip – and the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the scene. Officials said the fire was in a common roof connecting the stores.
The fire was declared under control about 3 a.m. Police said East Main Street was closed between 2:30 and 5:30 a.m.
The Artful Dodger is now Hypnosis 8.0. It has been a multitude of establushments since it opened.
Article in 1-12-12 Smithtown News
Be First to Comment