Fire guts Brightwaters car wash, convenience store, officials say

Arson Squad investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that gutted a gas station convenience store and car wash early Monday in Brightwaters that saw one firefighter taken to a local hospital suffering from heat exhaustion, Suffolk County police and fire officials said.

The fire occurred at 2:30 a.m. at the station on Howells Road and Ackerson Boulevard, adjacent to the Peter Pan Diner on a triangle also bordered by the Sunrise Highway service road.

Officials said firefighters from Bay Shore, Brentwood, West Islip and Islip responded to the scene to find the building “fully engulfed” by fire. A Bay Shore-Brightwaters Ambulance crew also responded, transporting the injured firefighter.

Officials said it took about an hour for firefighters to bring the blaze under control.

Fire officials said an accelerant-sniffing dog also was dispatched to the scene.

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.”