Update, Dec. 30: A fire Saturday morning in a Water Mill home owned by the publishing heiress Anne Hearst caused major damage to the 17,000-square-foot house, though Ms. Hearst and several family members escaped uninjured. Firefighters were able to rescue two cats and a substantial amount of artwork.
The blaze brought out 10 departments, from as far west as Eastport and Flanders to as far east as Amagansett, to truck in water. The Hearst estate, Ashgrove Farm, covers 16.8 acres off Little Noyac Path, in an area of very large residences but no public water mains; all the homes use wells. The nearest hydrant was over a mile away.
Because of that, Bridgehampton Fire Chief Mark Balserus called immediately for water. A fleet of tanker trucks responded. The first call came in just after 8:30 a.m., reporting smoke and flames at 156 Little Noyac Path, an outbuilding, though in fact the blaze was in the eight-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom main house, at number 154. The Hearst property includes two houses and a farm.
Southampton Town police arrived first, soon followed by Chief Balserus and Bridgehampton firefighters. The chief said there was "a pretty substantial haze in the house" when he got there. The fire began in a second-floor bedroom closet that backs up to a gas fireplace; it appears that the blaze began behind the fireplace.
All the occupants, including all their pets but two, got out quickly. A Southampton Town police officer rescued one cat still inside, and firefighters found the last cat hiding upstairs and got it out safely too. Chickens and other farm animals, including a llama and a donkey, were unaffected, as the wind was blowing smoke away from them.
"You could see visible fire in one of the walls, going up, leading to the attic space," Chief Balserus said. "It had been going for a long time before we got called, because supposedly they had smelled smoke around 7 o'clock when they woke up — that's what they told police." Despite some challenges, he said, firefighters were able to contain the flames to the central part of the main house.
Firefighters did their best to work around an Aston Martin parked at the front door under a porte-cochere. Amid the smoke and confusion, the homeowners could not find the keys, and the car had to stay where it was.
Firefighters at first made what the chief called "an aggressive push" against the flames using what water they had on the engines, but "there was still so much fire in the ceiling." The blaze eventually broke through the roof.
The tanker trucks rotated in and out, pouring water into a dump tank on Little Noyac Path, a narrow road that is not always easy to navigate. Hose was laid along the driveway for about 500 feet. Firefighters attacked the flames from both inside the house and, from the Sag Harbor Fire Department's tower ladder, above it.
Firefighters can only work inside for so long before they must be rotated out lest they succumb to smoke. Emergency medical personnel from Bridgehampton, Southampton Village, Southampton Volunteer, and East Hampton ambulances set up a checkpoint to ensure that the men leaving the house were feeling no ill effects. No injuries were reported.
In the central part of the main house, the second floor and the roof above were destroyed. The first floor suffered water damage, but firefighters were able to rescue dozens of valuable works of art. "They did an excellent job saving it," said Brian Williams, a fire marshal. "The homeowner was very happy we saved it."
After the flames were extinguished, Chief Balserus and the fire marshals went through the building. The staff quarters were untouched. "If you went into that part of the house you would never know there was a fire there," he said. Firefighters were on scene until about 2 p.m. Ms. Hearst and her husband, the novelist Jay McInerney, who were married in 2006, often held fund-raisers at Ashgrove Farm.
The family had reportedly planned to leave Saturday morning for a vacation to the island of Turks and Caicos.
The main house, with 11,273 square feet of living space plus a finished basement, sits on 10.4 acres and is assessed by Southampton Town at about $9 million. The smaller house, with four bedrooms and four baths, is assessed at $4.2 million.
Saturday’s blaze was the second major house fire in the Bridgehampton Fire District in just 10 days. A fire on Dec. 19 destroyed a three-level, 9,000-square-foot house at 9 West Pond Lane in Bridgehampton. Firefighters from eight departments fought the flames for nearly 10 hours that day in cold, icy weather. Conditions were more favorable on Saturday, with sun and temperatures in the upper 40s.
The fire marshal's office continues to investigate both fires, but neither appears suspicious.
Update, 5:30 p.m.: A large house in Water Mill owned by the publishing heiress Anne Hearst suffered major damage in a fire on Saturday, though Ms. Hearst and various family members escaped uninjured. Firefighters were able to rescue two cats and a substantial amount of artwork during the blaze.
Just after 8:30 a.m., the Bridgehampton Fire Department received a report of a fire at 156 Little Noyac Path. The property includes several buildings and a farm. Southampton Town police arrived first to find smoke coming from the main house, listed on real estate websites as being 5,000 square feet, though it appears to be much larger. Chief Mark Balserus said he arrived to find "a pretty substantial haze in the house."
The fire was in a second-floor bedroom closet on the south side of the house. The closet backs up to a gas fireplace, the chief said. The Southampton Town fire marshal's office is still investigating, but it appears the fire started behind the fireplace.
All the occupants, including most of their pets, got out of the house quickly. A Southampton Town police officer rescued a cat when he arrived and firefighters found another cat hiding upstairs.
"You could see visible fire in one of the walls, going up, leading to the attic space," the chief said. "It had been going for a long time before we got called, because supposedly they had smelled smoke around 7 o'clock this morning when they woke up — that's what they told police." Despite some challenges, he said, firefighters were able to contain the flames to the central part of the house.
The Hearst estate is in an area that has some very large homes but few water sources. Because of that, the Bridgehampton chief called immediately for tanker trucks from neighboring departments to bring in more water. Firefighters at first made what the chief called "an aggressive push" with what water they had on the engines to knock down the flames, but "there was still so much fire in the ceiling." The fire broke through the roof, the chief said.
Michael Heller
There were as many as 10 tanker trucks at the scene supplying water from departments as far west as East Quogue and Flanders to as far east as Amagansett. The trucks rotated in and out, pouring water into a dump tank on Little Noyac Path, a narrow road that is not always easy to navigate.
Firefighters laid hose about 500 feet down the driveway from the house, where they doused the flames from both inside and out, including from the Sag Harbor Fire Department's tower ladder above the house.
Several departments provided extra manpower. "It's a huge house," Chief Balserus said. "We did use a lot of manpower for overhaul and making sure all the spots were out."
Michael Heller
In the main part of the house, the second floor and the roof above were destroyed. The first floor suffered water damage, but firefighters carried out dozens of valuable works of art. "They did an excellent job saving it," said Brian Williams, a fire marshal. "The homeowner was very happy we saved it."
After the flames were was extinguished, Chief Balserus and the fire marshals went through the house. The staff quarters on its northern of the house were untouched. "If you went into that piece of the house you would never know there was a fire there."
Firefighters were on scene until about 2 p.m., though the fire was mostly put out hours earlier. Emergency medical personnel from Bridgehampton, Southampton Village, Southampton Volunteer, and East Hampton ambulances set up a checkpoint to ensure firefighters coming out of the house were feeling no ill effects.
The family was reportedly planning to leave Saturday morning for a vacation on Turks and Caicos, but had delayed the trip.
Originally: Fire departments from East Hampton to East Quogue were battling a raging house fire at 156 Little Noyac Path in Water Mill Saturday morning.
Firefighters were called to the scene just after 8:30 a.m. after a fire was reported in the second story of the house. As the fire progressed, smoke could be seen a mile away.
It was the second major house fire in the Bridgehampton Fire District in just 10 days. A fire on Dec. 19 destroyed a 9,000-square-foot house at 9 West Pond Lane in Bridgehampton. Firefighters from eight departments were at the scene for nearly 10 hours that day.
No further information was available as of 11 a.m. Check back for updates.