Fire engulfs stores on Montauk Hwy. in Babylon, officials say

Firefighters from at least eight South Shore departments battled a blaze that fire officials said appears to have started in a two-story commercial building in Babylon early Thursday, then spread to an adjacent paint store.

Montauk Highway was temporarily closed from the south end of Route 231 west to Willow / Cooper Street to allow firefighters access to the scene, according to the State Department of Transportation.

Fire officials said the fire had been extinguished by 9 a.m.

Suffolk County police said Arson Squad detectives responded to the scene and will investigate the cause of the fire.

Fire officials said the blaze at the storefront on East Main Street, which is also Montauk Highway, was reported in a 911 call at 5:10 a.m. Officials said the original fire location was a two-story commercial storefront that is part of the same strip-store location with a Sherwin-Williams paint store — and that the fire later spread to that location.

It was unclear if there were injuries.

Officials said firefighters from Babylon, West Islip, North Lindenhurst, Deer Park, Lindenhurst, Wyandanch, West Babylon and North Babylon responded to the scene.

Additional information was not immediately available.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”