F.B.I. Interested in East Hampton Fire

A fire that started in a garbage can outside an attached garage quickly ripped through a Northwest Woods house on New Year’s Day, destroying it.

Over 100 firefighters from seven South Fork departments responded. Some spent six hours at 56 Hedges Banks Road, battling flames for the first few hours and then looking for pockets of fire under debris after parts of the two-story, 3,500-square-foot waterfront house collapsed.

The house is owned by Merle Hoffman, an activist who founded one of the first ambulatory abortion centers, now known as Choices Women’s Medical Center, in Jamaica, Queens. Neighbors include Donna Karan, who owns four properties next door, and Sean (Diddy) Combs down the block.

East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said the town fire marshal’s office, which is investigating the cause of the fire, notified his department that the F.B.I. had “contacted them in regards to the circumstances surrounding the fire, given the stature of the homeowner. However, as far as we know the F.B.I. has not been out to investigate, nor is there any indication from the fire marshal’s office that the fire was suspicious in nature.”

Chief Fire Marshal David Browne said Tuesday that evidence points to the garbage can as the place where the fire began, but what caused the blaze is still unknown. People at the house called 911 when they found flames in the garbage can, which was under an overhang outside the three-car garage. The garage doors were open.

Dispatchers received the first call at about 12:45 p.m. East Hampton Fire Chief Richard Osterberg said he was just pulling into the Springs Firehouse for a ceremony marking the Springs Fire Department’s 50th anniversary when the call went out. He made the 7.8-mile drive in about nine minutes, and said he could see smoke from the head of the harbor. When he arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. “The people were outside. A good 75 percent of it was involved,” said the chief. The first fire truck arrived at the house at 12:58 p.m.

Firefighters were trying to fight the flames from inside when the ceiling began to come down. “They made a good stop, but we had to back out because of the collapse,” Chief Osterberg said. “It’s unfortunate that the house was a loss, but we didn’t have the chance to do anything better.”

Two cars, a Lexus and a Mercedes, were parked in the garage, which was also packed with teak furniture, and the fuel in their tanks helped fuel the flames, Mr. Browne said. Both the cars were totaled. Other factors caused the blaze to spread rapidly, including windy conditions, especially near the water, and dry shingles on the cedar-sided house.

Embers spread to neighboring properties, and the fire chief reported some minor damage to a shed and vegetation at 54 Hedges Banks Drive, which is owned by Ms. Karan. Firefighters soaked the house next door with water to prevent it from catching fire, he said.

Tankers from Amagansett, Montauk, Sag Harbor, Springs, Bridgehampton, and Southampton Fire Departments were called in to provide additional water; members of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association stood by. No injuries were reported.

Within the fire’s first half hour, dispatchers fielded two more fire calls elsewhere in East Hampton’s jurisdiction. With East Hampton’s entire fleet in Northwest, neighboring departments helped. Springs firefighters responded to a small brush fire on North Main Street, and Bridgehampton picked up the third call, initially a reported basement fire on Boatheader’s Lane that turned out to be an outdoor fire. The Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps also answered several calls while East Hampton’s ambulances were tied up.

The East Hampton Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary brought refreshments to the scene of the blaze.

“I really can’t say enough how great everybody, from the mutual aid to my own department, was,” Chief Osterberg said.

Ms. Hoffman, the homeowner, could not be reached for comment.