SUV fire spreads, causes heavy damage to West Babylon strip mall
Firefighters at the scene at Edison Avenue and Straight Path in West Babylon Saturday. Credit: Newsday/Paul Mazza
A vehicle fire spread to a nearby building on Edison Avenue in West Babylon Saturday night, damaging a deli and several vacant storefronts, police and a representative of the landlord said.
Firefighters responded to a call for a vehicle fire at 1-9 Edison Ave. shortly after 10 p.m.
The blaze, which originated from a burning SUV parked near the entrance of Los Texanos Deli on the western edge of the strip of the four-unit strip mall, was extinguished by the East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company with the assistance of neighboring departments.
The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported, police said.
“The damage was mainly on the deli,” said Jorge Ruiz, a spokesperson for Templo Mahanaim, a local church that owns the building. “The rest of the building is basically vacant, so there's not really much damage [elsewhere].”
It is the second fire in the building, located where Edison Avenue connects with Straight Path and Hilltop Avenue, since the church took ownership more than 20 years ago, Ruiz said. An electrical fire erupted in the boiler room of the house of worship in 2010.
For the past 14 years, the congregation has met at Revelation Church on Booker Avenue in Wyandanch, but has been looking forward to returning to its West Babylon space. The church has building applications pending before the Town of Babylon and Suffolk County to complete the renovation.
The church had to cancel a 30th anniversary celebration of Pastor Carlos Garzilazo Sunday as officials dealt with the aftermath of the fire, Ruiz said.
The building was boarded up overnight and Ruiz said the church is working with the town to ensure everyone’s safety.
Ruiz said church officials are optimistic that some good might come out of the bad news of suffering a second fire and a setback in their rebuilding effort.
“We’re hoping this will now help give our plans a little push,” Ruiz said.
The North Babylon, West Babylon, North Lindenhurst and Melville fire departments assisted East Farmingdale at the scene, where the Babylon Town Fire Marshal and Suffolk Arson squad responded to investigate. That investigation is ongoing, police said.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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