Cutchogue, Mattituck FDs battle house fire
An unoccupied Cutchogue house was destroyed by a fire that ripped through the roof and left the back of the house in ashes early Wednesday morning, fire officials said.
Neighbors of the house on Dean Drive spotted flames coming from the property about 12:15 a.m., fire officials said. Cutchogue firefighters and Southold Town police were the first on the scene and found the house engulfed in flames, said Cutchogue Fire Department first assistant chief Bill Brewer.
“The flames were through the roof,” Mr. Brewer said. The “intense heat” from the fire was threatening nearby homes, he said.
Volunteers from the Cutchogue and Mattituck fire departments fought the fire for more than two hours, fire officials said. Southold firefighters were also on standby at Cutchogue Fire Department headquarters, Mr. Brewer said.
By 1:15 a.m., the fire was under control and firefighters were dousing the embers of the fire.
No one was inside the home at the time of the blaze, and no one was injured, a Southold Town police officer said. None of the nearby houses were damaged, Mr. Brewer said.
Though the cause of the fire has yet to be determined and both Southold Town police and the Suffolk County Arson Squad are investigating, the fire doesn’t appear to be suspicious, fire officials said.
