BROOKHAVEN TOWN, NY — As dry conditions continued in the region, area firefighters responded to several brush fires over the weekend, including a 14-alarm blaze and another fire that Suffolk Arson Squad detectives are investigating, authorities said.
At the start of the weekend on Friday, firefighters were called to at least three brush fires.
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The largest, in which 14 fire departments responded, broke out at around 11:45 p.m.
Medford firefighters were alerted to a brush fire on Sipp Avenue, just north of Southaven Avenue, and the first arriving units quickly found a multi-acre fire burning, and “moving quickly” toward homes on Sipp Avenue and Oak Street, the Medford Fire Department said on its Facebook page.
Forty mph winds were casting embers into The Pines development, according to the department.
Another fire was quickly located on Longleaf Lane, impinging on two homes, the department said.
“Your Medford Firefighters made an aggressive attack on all fires, while a request was put out for additional resources,” the post read. “The chief’s office would like to thank all of its members for all their hard work and continued service to the community.”
In addition to Medford, responding fire departments included Middle Island, Bellport, Holbrook, Gordon Heights, Yaphank, Brookhaven, Hagerman, North Patchogue, Holtsville, Farmingville, Bayport, Holbrook, and Ronkonkoma.
Medford Ambulance also responded.
Earlier in the day, first responders also doused a brush fire in the area of John Roe Smith Avenue, Fire Avenue, and Audobon Street in Yaphank at around 3:36 a.m., police said.
A fire also broke out on Oak Avenue in Shirley just before 5 p.m.
Mastic Fire firefighters tackled an exterior garage fire, which had spread to the backyard and nearby woods, the department said on its Facebook page.
Firefighters used two water lines to contain the blaze, with help from the Brookhaven Fire Department, and “great teamwork ensured the fire was extinguished safely,” the department said.
At around midnight on Saturday, firefighters were called out to Medford for a “fast moving” brush fire that took around two and half hours to extinguish, the Brookhaven Fire Department said.
About an hour and a half after the first fire started in Medford, a fire broke out at around 1:22 a.m. in the woods between Woodside and Waverly avenues in Holtsville.
A large blaze also broke out in Baiting Hollow on Saturday.
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