Police Officers Help Save Occupants From Burning House

Two people and two dogs escaped a fire that destroyed a house in Water Mill early Thursday morning thanks to the quick action of two police officers. 

The house at 5 Seven Ponds Towd Road was completely ablaze when the fire was first reported just after 3 a.m. Charles Knoebel and Ed McIntyre, Southampton Village police officers, were around the corner when they heard the call. Even though the house is located in the town Police Department's jurisdiction, the village police rushed to the house. "They entered the building and alerted a female occupant," said Chris Brenner, the first assistant chief of the Southampton Fire Department. "The house was engulfed at the time," but the officers were able to help the occupants to safety. 

As she surveyed the damage Thursday afternoon, Kristen Kiernan, whose mother had owned the house for 40 years and whose sister and a friend were inside it at the time of the fire, was thankful that the officers were there. Officer Knobel, she said, “jumped out of his car and knocked on doors and got everybody out.” Neither the people nor the dogs were injured. Ms. Kiernan's mother is away in Florida.

"Flames were coming out of the roof and the side windows when we arrived on the scene,” Chief Brenner said. The department, led by Chief Michael Kampf, called for help from the Sag Harbor and North Sea Fire Departments, as well as the Hampton Bays Fire Department's rapid intervention team, which stands by in case a firefighter needs to be rescued from inside the building. The Bridgehampton Fire Department stood by at Southampton's headquarters to answer other calls that came in while firefighters were busy.

Firefighters fought flames for nearly three hours, even though they had extinguished the bulk of the blaze quickly, and some firefighters remained at the scene until about 8:30 a.m. Sustained winds of over 20 miles per hour kept the fire burning for much longer than usual, Chief Brenner said. Embers blew 60 to 80 yards from the house and threatened neighboring houses; the firefighters had to continuously check the surrounding properties.

One portion of the house suffered more damage than the other, but Brian Williams, a Southampton Town fire marshal investigating the cause, said the house was a total loss. Mr. Williams was still trying to pinpoint the source on Thursday afternoon.

No firefighters were injured. 

Correction: The police officers were on-duty at the time, not off-duty as previously reported.