Photo by Steve Silverman
The Huntington Fire Department on Long Island, N.Y., responded to a call for a gas leak at 21 Carley Ave. in Huntington at about 1430 HRS on Nov. 11. That call was followed minutes later by several calls reporting that the house had exploded. Third Deputy Chief Ken Cochrane arrived within 3 minutes of the alarm and found a partially collapsed structure, just as a second explosion occurred and completely leveled the two-story wood frame house, creating a gas-fed fire.
Chief Fred Uvena and Assistant Chief Dana Aliperti arrived on the scene seconds later, and requests for mutual-aid assistance were called for Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Huntington Manor and the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, with Centerport providing standby coverage. Top priorities included confirming that all occupants were out of the house, evacuating nearby homes and setting up lines to protect the two exposures on each side. One hundred firefighters and rescue personnel were on the scene with 12 pieces of apparatus. They had the fire under control in about 3 hours.
A contractor excavating with a backhoe accidentally ruptured a natural gas service line, causing the gas to leak in the home’s cellar, where the fumes ignited and caused the explosion. The contractor alerted the homeowner, who fled the house with his two dogs moments before the gas ignited and explosions ripped through the home. There were only two minor injuries. Suffolk County Fire-Rescue deputy coordinators assisted Huntington Fire Department Command. The Suffolk County Police Arson Squad and Town of Huntington Fire Marshal are investigating.