Embassy Dinettes warehouse reignites, officials say

A fire at a furniture warehouse in West Babylon that was first reported on Tuesday afternoon kept firefighters busy all night and into Wednesday morning — after it reignited three separate times, fire officials said.

The fire and two small explosions blew the roof off the Embassy Dinettes warehouse at 377 Wyandanch Ave. just before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Suffolk County police and fire officials said. The fire was contained at about 4 p.m. But, fire officials said, firefighters were called back to the scene three additional times — the last being at 4:54 a.m. Wednesday.

“That fire kept guys busy all night,” a fire official said.

The fire was first reported in a 911 call at 1:26 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters from more than a half-dozen departments — Wyandanch, East Farmingdale, Deer Park, West Babylon, North Lindenhurst, Lindenhurst, Melville and North Amityville — responded to the scene, working together to battle the blaze.

Police said a portion of Wyandanch Avenue, on the border of West Babylon and Wyandanch, was closed to traffic in the late afternoon Tuesday, as firefighters fought to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings. They did.

Wyandanch second assistant chief Robert Brown said the fire was raging when he and his crew arrived. Half the building already was engulfed.

“Once I opened up the door, we had fire about 5 feet in,” he said. “It came through the roof and just took off on us.”

He said no one was inside the building when his department arrived. “All of the workers were already out when we came,” he said. “Everyone was out safe and sound.”

Brown said furniture was packed inside the building. He said a couple of glue tanks exploded in the back but no one was hurt.

Wyandanch Fire Chief Jarvis Brown said the fire was under investigation and the cause was not yet known.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com,jo.napolitano@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.”