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Dec. 15--A dozen fire departments battled high winds as they fought a blaze that broke out in two Ocean Beach homes Thursday afternoon, Suffolk fire officials said.
Around 3:30 p.m., a 911 caller reported the fire near 258 Wilmot Rd. in Ocean Beach, on Fire Island, according to the Ocean Beach Fire Department.
"One house is completely down to the ground," said Ocean Beach police chief George Hesse. "The second house is totally gutted, but it's still pretty much standing. But it's still a total loss."
The two homes were unoccupied, and the fire was contained by 4:36 p.m., according to Suffolk County Firecom.
No injuries were reported, and the cause was being investigated, Firecom said.
Suffolk County arson detectives were on the scene, Hesse said.
High winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour made extinguishing the fire more difficult, said Ocean Beach third assistant chief Chris Lincoln.
"If we hadn't been there, a good swath of Ocean Beach could have gone because of the 25-knot winds," Lincoln said.
Responding companies included Fair Harbor, Kismet, Saltaire, Ocean Bay Park, Point O Woods, Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines, Davis Park, Bay Shore and West Islip, as well as the Suffolk County Marine Bureau, Lincoln said.
Bay Shore Ambulance and Islip Exchange Ambulance companies also assisted, according to Firecom said.
Last month a blaze destroyed the nearby Fire Island Pines nightclub the Pavilion. After that incident, the Fire Island fire departments upgraded their communications with each other.
"We all worked together at the Pines only a couple weeks at the Pavilion," Lincoln said. "Now we have an islandwide radio system so we can talk to one another."
The fire also came on a day when the village had seven police officers on duty instead of one or two, Hesse said.
They had just finished making sure the village's 600 homes were locked up for the winter when the fire call came, the chief said.
