Two Wading River residents escaped a fast-moving fire that destroyed their house this afternoon.
James Burkart was working outside his home off of Wading River Manor Road when he saw smoke pouring from his garage.
He ran inside the house to get some water to try to put out the fire, but by the time he returned, it was too late. “I threw some water on it but it didn’t do anything,” Burkart said. “At that point, I knew I just had to get us out of there.”
Burkart and his mother, who was inside when the fire started, escaped the house without injury shortly before it went up in flames.
It took four fire departments from Wading River, Riverhead, Manorville and Ridge to stamp out the fire. By the time the flames died down, the Burkharts’ home was nearly destroyed. A car parked in the driveway had also been ruined by the fire.
No one else was inside the home at the time of the fire. The fate of the family’s two cats and dog, which were all inside when the fire started, is currently unknown.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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