The two-story structure at Stonebridge Golf Links and Country Club in Smithtown, N.Y. was fully engulfed “like a fireball in the night” by the time firefighters arrived.
A maintenance building at a Smithtown, N.Y. country club on Long Island burned to the studs on the night of October 29 in a blaze that took four fire departments about an hour to control, Newsday reported.
Flames were reported at about 6 p.m. at Stonebridge Golf Links and Country Club, Newsday reported, and the two-story structure was like a fireball in the night when firefighters arrived, said Jeff Bressler, a spokesman for the Smithtown Fire Department. Smoke could be seen from miles away, it was reported.
The building housed golf carts and other supplies, presumably including chemicals and fertilizers that catch fire quickly, Bressler speculated. “This type of combustion makes for a spectacular-looking, fully engulfed fire,” he said.
Firefighters used the “surround and drown” technique, spraying water from tower ladders into the building, Bressler told Newsday.
No one was injured, he said, and firefighters remained at the scene during the night putting out embers.
Police arson detectives and the Smithtown fire marshal’s office were investigating the cause, Newsday reported. Town workers were expected to knock down the remnants of the building before the night ended.
The fire prevented residents of the country club complex from returning home because the property has only one entrance, Bressler told Newsday. The residents were barred by police from entering until fire trucks could pack up to leave. “There’s a long backup of cars waiting to get back onto the property, Bressler said.”
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