Suburban Fire Marshal

The Kings Park Fire Department awarded the 2019 Edward Mankuski scholarships to six young adults this week. The winners are Lauren Weir,  Jenna Lee, Evan Garland, Chris Leavy, Bridget Pickford and Katherine Cheadle. Congratulations to all and best of luck in all of your future endeavors!

Kings Park Fire Department photo

The Commack Fire Department responds to the corner of Maple Lane Drive and Veterans Highway in regard to a 911 call reporting hundreds of gallons of oil flowing down the street. Fire Department units arrive to find a small fuel spill (less than five gallons) with fuel being carried down the street by rain water. FD personnel applied speedy dry to the affected area and created a berm around a storm drain to contain the fuel oil. A Fire Marshal was requested to respond as was NYS DEC Spills unit and Encon Police. The occupant was ordered to clean up the spill, recover all contaminated dirt and properly dispose of same. Three summonses were issued by the Encon Police.

The Centereach Fire Department responds to Hawkins Road and Wireless Road in regards to a traffic collision. Units arrive to find a multi-vehicle crash with a subject trapped. FD personnel went to work to open the vehicle, while EMS personnel triage and treat the injured. Mutual aid was requested from the Setauket Fire Department for an ambulance. While en-route to this call, a Setauket Chief was involved in a separate traffic collision, eliciting a full response from his department. All of the injured were transported to the hospital via Centereach and Setauket FD ambulances.

Senior Fire Marshal Nicholas Kefalos was sworn in today as the new Chief Fire Marshal for the Town of Smithtown. Kefalos has been with the Town since 2004, starting as a Fire Marshal and then being promoted to a Senior Fire Marshal. Nick takes over for Richard McKay, who retired December. Nick heads up a 12 man Fire Prevention Division within the Department of Public Safety.

Smithtown Fire Marshals are sworn New York State peace officers charged with the enforcement of state and local fire prevention laws. Law enforcement training is provided through the Nassau and/or Suffolk County police and sheriff’s academies. The Fire Marshals are certified fire investigators  and also registered by the state as fire code enforcement officials. Fire Marshals maintain other required certifications in disciplines such as hazardous materials response and handling, safety officer, incident command and emergency management. 

Fire Marshals conduct code compliance and life safety inspections of commercial and municipal sites. Reports are provided to administrators and owners which list items in need of corrective action. Determinations are made if businesses are required to obtain any operating permits issued by the division. 

Fire Marshals respond to fire scenes to perform the investigation necessary to determine the origin and cause of the fire. While performing investigations, Fire Marshals work with the detectives from the Suffolk Police Departments Arson Squad, NYS Park Police, Village police officers, Federal agencies such as the BATF and the FBI, department of health and social service officials and other various agencies.

Fire Marshals also respond to life safety incidents involving town properties and town personnel for documentation, mitigation and corrective action. Because the town of Smithtown is host to the largest industrial park in the country, there is concern also for hazardous material incidents. Daily, Fire Marshals gather information relative to the handling and use of such materials. 

Fire Marshals offer fire safety education programs to a variety of audiences, including schools, health care facilities, skilled care facilities and industrial facilities and civic groups. Training sessions are also provided to town employees in a variety of topics, including but not limited to; fire prevention, CPR, workplace hazard recognition, etc. Best of luck Chief Kefalos.

1952 hours. East Brentwood Fire Department responds to a report of a structure fire on Bushwick Avenue. Units arrive to find heavy fire throughout a single store wood frame garage at number 2 Bushwick. Mutual aid was started from Central Islip for an engine, Hauppauge for a RIT, Brentwood for a truck Due to the large volume of fire and the fact that most of the building had already collapsed, FD personnel took a defensive. posture extinguishing the fire with multiple lines and East Brentwood aerial ladder. BLA sent an ambulance. There were no injuries. The Suffolk Police Department Arson Squad is investigating. 

FIREWORKS ARE ILLEGAL

Lots of folks that you know probably use fireworks. Reset assured, it does not matter who they are or what they do for a living. Fireworks are illegal, PERIOD. The Lake Grove Fire Marshals Office urges you to celebrate safely on the 4th of July. If you use fireworks, you or someone else can get seriously hurt. If you have fireworks, we can ARREST YOU, your car can be confiscated and your business can be closed. Leave the fireworks to the pros. 

Suffolk County Police last night arrested a man for driving while intoxicated following a head-on motor vehicle crash that seriously injured a man in Hauppauge. Johnny Mendez was driving a 2008 Subaru Impreza northbound on Lincoln Boulevard, just north of Route 454, when the vehicle veered into the southbound lane and struck a 2001 Jeep Cherokee driven by Francis Squillace at approximately 10:15 p.m. Squillace, 61, of Hicksville, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious injuries. Mendez and a 17-year-old male passenger in the Impreza were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with minor injuries. Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.
 
Mendez, 18, of 1122 Joselson Ave., Bayshore was charged with Driving While Intoxicated. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip today.

The Hauppauge Fire Department handled this incident along with Central Islip Hauppauge Volunteer Ambulance Corp. 

 
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Information above comes via Suffolk County Police Department Press Release. 

1230 HRS Vehicle Fire 250 Veterans Highway The New York state Office Builidng North parking lot. This fire involved three vehicles with two of them being heavily damaged. The fire appeared to have originated in the rear bed ot the Dodge Ram 1500 Pick up Truck. There were pool filters and pool chemicals in the back of the truck. 

There were no injuries and the fire was extinguished promptly by Engine Crews from Engine's 4 & 3 under the Command of Lieutenant Edward Minder. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshals Office and the Arson Squad of the Suffolk County Police..

This violation may not be obvious to you if you are not a fuel seller or a firefighter. The UN number* shown in the red diamond is 1203 which indicates that the storage tank is holding gasoline. The danger sing indicates that the tank is holding diesel fuel. Gasoline is a flammable liquid that has a very low flash point (ignites at -45 degrees). Diesel is a combustible liquid that has a high flash point (ignites at 100-130 degrees depending on the grade). 

This is very dangerous as the way a fire department might approach an incident involving this tank would be dramatically different for gasoline vs. diesel.

* UN Numbers are four-digit numbers that identify hazardous materials, and articles (such as explosives, flammable liquids, oxidizing solids, toxic liquids, etc.) in the framework of international transport. There is no UN number allocated to non-hazardous substances.

1550 hours. The St. James and Nesconset Fire Departments were dispatched to a report of a house fire at 12 Three Sisters Road in the St. James Fire District. St. James Assistant Chief John Gonzales was the first to arrive and advised of smoke coming from a two story private dwelling. Shortly thereafter, Chief Gonzales transmitted the working fire, adding Stony Brook, Nissequogue, Smithtown and Centereach Fire Departments to the call. Crews stretched a line off of St. James engine 4-3-3 into the basement. The fire was extinguished without incident. Crews searched, overhauled and vented the house. The scene was secured and a Fire Marshal from the Town of Smithtown Department of Public Safety was requested. This fire is not considered suspicious at this time. There were no injuries. 

This photo shows a fire sprinkler head that is covered with a glove,  rendering it useless. It would appear that the glove was placed there by the plumbers that installed the new copper water line in an attempt to prevent the sprinkler head from activating while they were soldering.  That was a good idea until the forgot to take it down.

Kings Park Day is tomorrow, June 15th. The Kings Park Fire Department will open their doors to the public for tours, fire prevention and will be hosting a blood drive. Feel free to stop down, meet the members, learn about fire safety and perhaps donate a pint of blood. The Suffolk County Sheriffs Department will be on hand to register children for the Operation SAFE ID card Program. 

Updated with photos on 6/18/19

Not. quite sure what happened to the fire extinguisher that the sign is pointing to but A-its not there and B-this would be a poor location for an extinguisher as the extinguisher reduces the required width of the door opening and the extinguisher would be subject to damage from everyone bumping into it. 

This is an incredibly dangerous idea. If this propane tank was leaking, the explosion that resulted will be catastrophic!

Greg Gottlieb Photo

New sign in remembrance of Michael Tufarella. Mikes mom and dad,other family members, Chief Raymond Germaine, Department Members, Ladies Auxiliary and Explorers post all participated . The sign is located on the south side of Kings Highway just west of Wheeler Road. The sign was provided courtesy of The Town of Islip.

I believe that this one is self explanatory. 

Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a crash that injured three people, one seriously, in Smithtown this morning.
 Emily Loach was driving a 2017 Honda Accord eastbound in the left lane on Nesconset Highway near Southern Boulevard when she attempted to make a right turn and struck an eastbound 2010 Jeep in the right lane driven by Neiko Genao at 1:49 a.m. The Jeep overturned.
 
Loach, 20, of Smithtown, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. Her brother Thomas Loach, 17, of Smithtown, a passenger in the Honda, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Genao, 19, of Centereach, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Another passenger in the Honda and two passengers in the Jeep were not injured and declined medical treatment at the scene.  

Nesconset Fire Department operated at the scene with assistance from the Smithtown and St. James Fire Departments.

 
Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.
 
Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

SCPD Press Release

1654 hours. The Smithtown Fire Department is dispatched to a report of a traffic collision at Main Street and North Country Road. Units arrive to find crash involving two vehicles, one of which left the roadway and overturned. The vehicle came to rest on its side against a tree on the lawn of the Smithtown Library. FD personnel stabilized and secured both vehicles while EMS personnel packaged and transported two patients. All FD units cleared from the scene by 1830. 

0905 hours. The Smithtown Fire Department responds to a report of a traffic collision on Route 347 near Plaisted Avenue. Crews arrive to find a single vehicle that left the roadway and came to rest in a wooded area. FD Personnel secured and stabilized the vehicle so that the EMS crew could remove the occupant. The subject was evaluated by EMS.