Fire Damages Sag Harbor House

     A fire believed to be electrical in nature damaged part of a house in Sag Harbor Village overnight, investigators said this morning.

     East Hampton Town Chief Fire Marshal Dave (Buzzy) Browne said cellphone video footage taken by a neighbor, who called 911, showed electrical sparks where the above-ground wires go into 15 Robeson Boulevard, on the corner of Harrison Street. "It looks like it burned in" toward the house, he said.

     The house was unoccupied at the time. "It looked like they planned for renovations," Mr. Browne said.

     James Frazier, Sag Harbor Fire Department’s first assistant chief, said flames were already burning through the roof when the department was called out at 11:28 p.m. All of the department's apparatuses were called to the scene, and the rapid intervention team from the East Hampton Fire Department responded, as well.

     The fire was extinguished "fairly quickly," he said. Firefighters were put back in service by 1 a.m. No injuries were reported.

     "There was fairly extensive damage to one end of the house, but I wouldn't say it was a total loss," Mr. Frazier said.

     Mr. Browne said that Tom Baker, a fire marshal, is still investigating the cause. The electrical issue could have been a combination of the age of the wires, the cold, windy weather, and the branches that were surrounding the wires.

     "If it was any later in the night, it probably would have been a total loss," Mr. Frazier said.