Seaview fire destroys one home, damages another, fire official says

A homeowner who woke up thinking people were making a racket in his Seaview home early Saturday discovered the cause was a fire that destroyed the home and damaged another, fire officials said.

Several fire companies responded to the 12:30 a.m. fire on Atlantic Walk, which fully engulfed the home and damaged a home next door, said Ocean Beach Fire Chief Ian Levine.

The homeowner was in a separate guesthouse on the property when he woke up and thought he had to tell people in the main home to calm down, Levine said. But he soon discovered the noise was the crackling of burning wood, Levine said. The people in the main home, a rental property, were not home at the time, the chief said. 

He added that no one was injured in the fire, which began in the living room and was under control by 3:30 a.m.

"The homeowner woke up and was going to tell them to calm down and stop making noise," Levine said. "It was a fire."

A total of 22 members of the Ocean Beach Fire Department responded, in addition to three fire trucks and an ambulance, he said. They were assisted by the fire departments from Ocean Bay Park, Point O' Woods and Fair Harbor, he said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and Levine said he does not suspect foul play.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.