Fire Shutters Bridgehampton's World Pie Memorial Day Weekend
Update, 2:34 p.m.: World Pie will be among the few East End restaurants not experiencing the Memorial Day weekend rush, after a fire badly damaged the restaurant Saturday morning.
A fire broke out in the basement of the eatery at 2402 Montauk Highway, in the heart of Bridgehampton, around 9:25 a.m. Though the flames were quickly extinguished, there was an extraordinary amount of heat, and firefighters discovered more fire behind walls, in the ceiling of the basement, according to Bridgehampton Fire Chief Gary Horsburgh. They had to cut holes in the first floor in the dining areas to vent the fire in the basement. "The floor by the bar started to give way, so we had to cut that to vent it."
"It's pretty bad," Chief Horsburgh said of the fire and smoke damage. "It's going to be a while before he's up and running. I felt sorry for him — it's Memorial Day weekend. It was sad, really, cutting the guy's place up, but we had to do it."
Montauk Highway, between Butter Lane and the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike was shut down for about two and a half hours while firefighters were at work. Hoses stretched across the highway.
When vehicle and pedestrian traffic was allowed back on that portion of Main Street, visitors found the mainstay closed. "From the outside, he's got the one door open and it looks like he's open for business," Chief Horsburgh said. The Southampton Town fire marshal's office is investigating the cause.
No one was hurt, and the restaurant hadn't yet opened for the day when the fire broke out.
World Pie is not the only local restaurant recently damaged by a fire. On April 24, Rowdy Hall in East Hampton was damaged when an outdoor refrigeration unit malfunctioned. While the building next door, which housed J. Crew clothing store and a few offices, suffered most of the damage, Rowdy Hall had to close for repairs. Just two weeks later, it managed to reopen, with a thank-you party for the emergency workers who responded.
Originally, 9:38 a.m.: A blaze of unknown origin broke out at World Pie, a restaurant on Main Street in Bridgehampton, on Saturday morning, at the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend.
The Bridgehampton Fire Department was called to the restaurant at 2402 Montauk Highway at 9:24 a.m. Police and firefighters confirmed there was a fire in the restaurant's newer section. Montauk Highway was shut down between School Street and the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike to accommodate the engines.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, a medevac helicopter landed on the ballfield next to the firehouse on School Street to transport a stroke patient to the hospital.
The fire was initially extinguished, but at about 9:50 a.m., firefighters reported seeing flames in the basement and coming from the exterior. Chiefs then requested the Southampton Fire Department to assist and asked for an engine from the Sag Harbor Fire Department to stand by at Bridgehampton's headquarters. A rapid intervention team from the East Hampton Fire Department was called in as well.
The Southampton Town fire marshal's office and PSEG-Long Island were asked to respond.
Breakfast was being still served at the Candy Kitchen across Montauk Highway, according to a person who answered the phone there. She said that the fire appeared to have been brought under control by about 10:20 a.m.