2nd Brush Fire in 3 Days in North Sea

The North Sea Fire Department responded to its second brush fire in less than three days on Monday night, and the lack of precipitation may to be blame.

Chief William Rosko Jr. said his department was was alerted to a fire in the Northside Hills Development at the intersection of Northside Drive and English Garden Lane, off Noyac Road, at about 9:30 p.m.

First arriving units found a 75-by-100-foot area on fire between two houses. "The high winds were pushing the brush fire toward one house. It was maybe 15 to 30 feet from the residence," Rosko said.

Firefighters quickly responded — a brush truck was on scene within 12 minutes of the initial call, he said. "We were able to pinch it pretty quickly," he said.

Two engines and a brush truck responded with about 20 firefighters, he said. They were on scene for an hour to hour and a half.

No injuries were reported.

The homeowners, who called 911 and said it was possibly started by electrical wires, were already outside when firefighters arrived, he said.

Rosko said the Southampton Town Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the blaze, but that it did not appear suspicious. The chief suspected that landscape lighting may have been to blame, but couldn't say for sure.

Just a few days ago, the fire department extinguished another brush fire on the west side of the intersection at North Sea Road and Noyac Road.

The chief said the area is in desperate need of rain. "We're about five to seven inches behind on what we usually have in terms of precipitation this time of year," he said. "Plus we still have a heavy fire load in the woods from the past two hurricanes."

Even on Tuesday, with a little snow, the ground is still dry. "It's still something to be wary of," he said, adding that homeowners using their chimneys should be careful that embers aren't being thrown onto the ground.