Two Firefighters Injured in Suspicious Blaze

Two firefighters from Terryville Fire Department were taken to the hospital for minor injuries after fighting a suspicious blaze at the Lawrence Aviation site on Sheep Pasture Rd. in Port Jefferson Station on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Assistant Chief Brendan Pilkington, initial reports into Terryville Fire Department communications gave the location of the fire in the vicinity of Katherine St. in Port Jefferson Station.

After firefighters searched the adjacent areas it was confirmed that the fire was located on the property of Lawrence Aviation. The first unit on the scene encountered a vacant, 2-story residence that was fully engulfed in flames.

According to Pilkington heavy brush surrounded the structure forcing all fire fighting to the outside of the structure. A second obstacle firefighters faced was the collapse of the structure into the basement, making it difficult for them to reach a fire in the basement.

Terryville requested aid from Port Jefferson and Setauket Fire Departments, while Mt Sinai Fire Department stood by at Terryville’s Headquarters on Jayne Blvd with one engine. Setauket Fire Department and Port Jefferson Volunteer Ambulance were on the scene to provide emergency medical services. The Brookhaven Fire Marshal was also on scene as well.

While battling the fire, one firefighter was transported to a local hospital with minor injures and another was transported due to the heat. There is no information yet on where they were taken or if they were released from the hospital.

After the fire was put out, the scene was turned over to the Suffolk County Police Department Arson Squad and Brookhaven Town Fire Marshal Office.

No reports are available yet on the outcome of the investigation into the cause of the fire.

The site is designated as a Superfund area by the Department of Environmental Conservation and is currently the location of a remediation plant that is cleaning toxins from the ground water that was polluted by the former Lawrence Aviation company.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.