Fire at Clare Rose Building

Update 4:09 p.m.: The scene of the fire at the Clare Rose building on West Avenue in Patchogue is clear, according to the Patchogue Fire Department. The last truck returned from the scene at approximately 3:30 p.m. The back portion of the Clare Rose building had to be knocked down in order to find remaining hotspots. When hotspots were found, the department immediately extinguished the flames at the building. The earlier report from Wednesday morning is below:

A fire at the Clare Rose building on West Avenue in Patchogue was reported to the Patchogue Fire Department at 6:19 a.m. Wednesday, according to Patchogue Fire Department Chief Joseph Perry.

The fire was in the ceiling at the time the fire department was on scene and visible from the outside said Bill Rowse, the public information officer for the department.

The Clare Rose building when the company moved to its new headquarters in Yaphank. The property is currently under construction to become . As a result, Perry said the department had to be wary of the structural integrity of the building.

“Since it’s an abandoned building we don’t want to commit any man power into the building, so we went on an exterior attack to try and knock down what we could and get a fix on the fire,” Perry said. A possible collapse of the roof was a main concern due to the buiding’s questionable structural integrity combined with its heavy roof and the falling snow.

The department first took an exterior attack on the fire and later entered the building. Perry said that the fire was under control by 9:45 a.m., and that hotspots remain. Perry said that finishing the job will require taking portions of the building down.

According to Perry approximately 75 to 100 firefighters were on scene from the Patchogue, Blue Point, North Patchogue and Hagerman fire departments. Perry said the arson department is also on scene but had not issued a report to Perry at the time of the interview. The Bayport Fire Department remained on standby at the Patchogue fire department headquarters to respond to any additional calls.

West Avenue in Patchogue was closed to traffic during the incident.

Check the for highlights from the scene, including the  and of a that the Patchogue Fire Department extinguished.