Year in review: Fatal house fire in Mattituck
A devastating house fire ravaged a Mattituck home on Nov. 19. Three people escaped, but 26-year-old Edy Herrera lost his life in the blaze.
Multiple area fire departments responded to the fire on Old Sound Avenue near the Amagansett Building Company. Smoke was visible for miles around the scene, and portions of Route 48 were closed to traffic for much of the morning. Southold police responded to a 911 call about the fire at 9:43 a.m.
Mattituck High School graduate Erick Morales, who also lived in the house, was inside in his room when his mom yelled out to him. When he opened the door he saw smoke everywhere. Mr. Morales was able to evacuate a young cousin and another relative before rushing back in to retrieve Mr. Herrera. Unfortunately, the smoke and flames were too intense, and he was unable to reach his friend.
Friends of Mr. Herrera and Mr. Morales heard about the fire and came running to help, but they were also too late.
Friend Joe Aiello said that Mr. Herrera, who was living in the house with extended family and relatives, was an only child whose parents live in Guatemala. He said that all the home’s residents are of Guatemalan descent.
Mr. Herrera was a member of the staff at CJ’s American Grill. CJ’s owner, Joanne Richards, said that Mr. Herrera helped out with the catering arm of the business for years, and recently took a job as a dishwasher. The business held a memorial for Mr. Herrera.
Mr. Herrera worked constantly, juggling numerous odd jobs to make as much money as he could to send home to his mother, Alicia Cruz, in Quezaltepeque, an agricultural town about 110 miles east of Guatemala City, according to friends.
Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan told The Suffolk Times that three people escaped the burning home, and that one woman was hospitalized as a precaution.
Mr. Grattan said there have been reports that more than a dozen people were living in the house, possibly made up of members of two families. Most of the residents were at school or work by the time the fire started.
In less than a week, a GoFundMe page seeking donations for the families displaced by the fire was ended after raising $90,000 from 845 individual donors.
Suffolk County Police arson investigators are still probing the source of the fire.
A town building department official said the department has no property records on the home, likely because it was built before 1957, when zoning was first enacted in Southold. The official also said no certificate of occupancy has ever been sought or issued for the home. A CO is a prerequisite for getting a rental permit, according to town code. A rental permit application would have triggered safety inspections.
Original reporting by Chris Franscescani.
