Brush Fire Burned Four Acres

A brush fire that broke out in Water Mill on Monday burned over three and a half acres and came close to a house before firefighters were able to extinguish it.

Bridgehampton Fire Chief Gary Horsburgh said Tuesday that a man was out in an open field behind 153 Little Noyac Path with a lawn mower when the fire began at about 11:35 a.m. “He must have hit a rock and sparked the fire,” Chief Horsburgh said. “It really went up fast.”

He immediately called for help from the North Sea Fire Department, whose jurisdiction abuts the area. Later, he also called for tanker and brush trucks from the Southampton and Sag Harbor Fire Departments. Water sources in that area are limited to wells, and the chief said he wanted to ensure they had ample access to water. Though the chief was not sure how much water from the other department’s trucks were used, he said 3,300 gallons of water — the full amount carried on Bridgehampton’s tanker truck — doused the flames.

Still, the fire spread into the woods and crept toward the back of a house on Noyac Path before firefighters could get control of it. Flames got within 40 feet of the house, Chief Horsburgh said. Though there were two other houses in the area, the fire only got close to one. Had the wind been worse, the chief said, they easily could have lost the house.

There was also concern about four or five beehives belonging to the homeowner, but the fire did not reach them. “We saved them,” the chief said.

The Bridgehampton and Southampton brush trucks broke down in the midst of battling the blaze. The Bridgehampton truck lost a tire, while Southampton’s truck experienced mechanical problems, Chief Horsburgh said.

About 45 minutes to an hour after the fire began, firefighters put it out. They remained on scene for an additional hour to wet down the area so that “hot spots” did not erupt, again.

In all, between 50 and 60 firefighters from the four departments turned out. The Southampton Town fire marshal’s office and Southampton Town police also responded.

Monday’s fire came just two days after a large brush fire in Flanders and about three years after the third anniversary of the Ridge-Manorville brush fire that firefighters from throughout the South Fork helped to fight. In honor of that anniversary, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced a partnership with the Central Pine Barrens Commission to provide the 10,000 volunteer firefighters in the county with training to extinguish wildfires. A 25-acre parcel of Suffolk County land in Yaphank has been set aside for a specialized training ground.