'Tough' East Hampton House Fires Leaves Two Firefighters With Minor Injuries

Upate, 11 a.m.: A fire that broke out in a crawl space of a house at 56 Accabonac Road in East Hampton took about an hour for firefighters to extinguish because of its location, East Hampton Fire Chief Richard Osterberg Jr. said. 

"It was tough to get to. We ended up having to cut the floor boards from the first floor," he said. The crawl space, on the south side of the house, was part of an addition, so when firefighters initially cut through the wall in the basement they thought they had hit an exterior wall, but there was actually more to the house. 

"There was a lot of cutting, saws, and prying," he said. "The guys did a good job." 

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries after the fire was extinguished. One firefighter injured his back, and another was being treated for possible heat exhaustion. Both were transported by East Hampton Village Ambulance Association to Southampton Hospital. Chief Osterberg was on his way to visit them just before 11 a.m. 

The East Hampton Fire Department was called to the house by homeowners who found smoke in the house just after 7:30 a.m. Firefighters were on scene within minutes. The firehouse is around the corner on Cedar Street. 

Chief Osterberg said they found heavy smoke conditions, and he called for back up from the Amagansett Fire Department. The Springs Fire Department stoodby at East Hampton's headquarters for about two hours. 

The East Hampton Town Fire Marshal's office is investigating the fire. Chief Osterberg said it does not appear suspicious, but he declined to discuss a possible cause. 

Originally: Firefighters are cleaning up after they extinguished a fire at a house on Accabonac Road in East Hampton on Saturday morning. 

The East Hampton Fire Department responded to 56 Accabonac Road after smoke was reported inside the residence at 7:38 a.m. Firefighters found flames, and called for assistance from the Amagansett Fire Department's Rapid Intervention Team, which are used in case firefighters need to be rescued. The Springs Fire Department also stood by at East Hampton's Firehouse with an engine and a tanker.

Firefighters were still on scene at about 8:45 a.m., but the fire was out, and they were checking for any pockets of fire behind walls or under debris. 

No word yet on what caused the fire or how bad the damage was. The East Hampton Town Fire Marshal was called to investigate its cause. 

Check back for more information as it becomes available.