New Suffolk home damaged in fire Tuesday evening

The Cutchogue Fire Department, with help from departments in Southold, Mattituck and Greenport, extinguished a house fire on Old Harbor Road in New Suffolk Tuesday night.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental, according to Southold Town police. The home was unoccupied when the fire started and no injuries were reported.

“There was smoke showing from the residence and Cutchogue Fire Department was dispatched,” said Amos Meringer, the chief of the Cutchogue Fire Department. “When the first units arrived on the scene, they noticed smoke was coming from the soffits.”

The fire was called in at about 7:47 p.m. Captain Chris Dinizio was first on the scene and re-dispatched the call as a working structure fire, Mr. Meringer said.  

“From there, Southold Town Police and the Cutchogue Fire Department radio operator put into play our mutual aid protocol,” the fire chief said. “We had the rapid intervention team from Mattituck assisting, Southold provided an engine to the scene and Greenport provided an ambulance to standby at Cutchogue fire headquarters.”

The home, located at 179 Old Harbor Road, sustained heavy fire damage to the kitchen area and heat and smoke damage throughout the rest of the residence, police said.

Mr. Meringer said the home will not be livable at this time.

“Anytime you have a fire in a house, it’s not livable,” he said. “You have to treat the smoke damage and the water damage.”

The Suffolk County Police Arson Squad responded to help determine the cause of the fire, police said.