By Carolyn James
A blazing fire demolished buildings at the northeast corner of Merrick Road and Route 110 in Amityville yesterday., Thurs. Sept. 2. Officials said they suspect that the fire was intentionally set and are investigating.
Amityville Fire Department, assisted by Babylon, Copiague, Lindenhurst, North Lindenhurst, West Babylon, Massapequa, Seaford, Wantagh and the Babylon Town Fire Coordinators battled the fire beginning shortly after 3 a.m. when the first call went out.
“When I arriveded I could see the smoke seeping from the bricks beneath the windows of the building on the corner said Amityville’s 1st Ass’t Chief Charles Scudlo. “So I knew that the fire was in the basement and trying to get oxygen.”
Scudlo immediately directed volunteers with a hose to the basement, where a large amount of items were stored for the Ski Shop on Broadway and the A’Lure Salon and Day Spa on Merrick Road. Faced with a huge amount of fire, however, the firefighters had to retreat and take up a defensive attack.
“The floor on the first floor was becoming spongy, which told us that it might collapse and that we needed to get the volunteers out,” said Scudlo, who added that the fire was coming up through the walls.
Efforts were simultaneously underway to protect the buildings to the north and east of the site by volunteers who put up a wall of water. As a result they sustained no major damage throughout the ordeal. But firefighters had to remove a corner portion of the building to get to the fire, which seeped into the multiple roofs.
By the early morning, additional water sources were needed and the Lindenhurst Fire Department set up a hose from the Amityville River to the fire site. It took firefighters hours to bring the tenacious blaze under control and it wasn’t untl 12:30 p.m., that the scene was secured.
Despite suffering from exhaustion, no firefighters sustained any injuries, but Amityville officer, Sgt. John Sullivan, who was directing traffic at the scene, was struck by a car and sustained injuries. He has since been released from the hospital.
“Our volunteers have done a tremendous job; they fought long and hard under very difficult circumstances throughout the night and through the morning heat,” said Mayor Peter T. Imbert who was at the scene this morning.
Scudo and Amityville Fire Chief Russell Sawyer commended all of the volunteers and thanked the surrounding departments for providing much needed back up and assistance.
“It was a tremendous job by our volunteers and the departments that provided mutual aid,” said Sawyer.
“It was a great, coordinated effort and as a result the neighboring structures did not sustain damage,” said Scudlo. “We are very grateful for the support we got from the other departments.”
Also in charge at the scene were assistant chiefs, Rob Waegerle and Jeff Erath.
Standing in shock and dismay as firefighters continued to pour water on the fire was A’Lure owner Isabel Cassella.
“We wait all summer for Back to School when things get busy again,” she said, the distress clearly marked on her face. “We are solidly booked.”
Cassella’s salon, at 5 Broadway, has more than a dozen stations and her distress over the fire quickly turned to concern for her employees. Many of them are single mothers and young women who need their jobs, she said. With the building totally demolished, she worked quickly and even before the fire was out, she had them placed at other salons in the area.
“They have families and I am happy to say that they all seem to have a place to go until we get over this,” she said.
She was also concerned with the thousands of loyal customers she has. “We will do whatever we have to,” she said.
In addition to Alure, New Moon Glass Works at 150 Merrick Road and the shop at/antique east of it were destroyed. The car dealership sustained only minor damage as of this morning.
Firefighters appeared exhausted, with ashen faces streaked with sweat. Lines were laid across Merrick Road down to the canal for a steady supply of water and traffic was diverted. Calls for assistance and relief from other departments were made several times throughout the morning.
Many residents were awakened by the sound of sirens and the smell of smoke that covered the Village to the north of the site.
“We really appreciate the assistance of all of the other agencies that came out to help,” said Imbert.
“It’s terrible,” said one resident who lives nearby and walked down to view the devastation up close and personal.
The building sustained fire damage about two years ago as a result of an incident was determined to be vandalism and about ten years ago, a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window.
The investigation into this fire is underway by S.C. Arson, which has not made a determination yet as to how the fire started.