Fire Destroys Historic Nissequogue Home

An early morning fire Friday destroyed a historic Nissequogue home after a problem with water made it impossible for firefighters from 10 local fire departments to quench the flames.

According to Michael Grosskopf, first assistant chief for the Nissequogue Fire Department, the fire that took down the 14 Rassapeague home appeared to have started in the area of the fireplace, although the exact cause has not yet been determined. Grosskopf said the balloon framing and metal roof allowed the fire to engulf the entire home.

Grosskopf said the distance the home is to the main roadway created difficulties for the firefighters.

"The most difficult thing was water. This is a good half mile from the road so we had to bring our tanker in and we brought a lot of five-inch hose," he said.

The assistant chief said that there were six or seven people in the home at the time of the fire, all exiting the home with no injuries. No firefighters were injured fighting the fire.

Nissequogue, Nesconset, Commack, Smithtown, St. James, Kings Park, Centereach, Setauket, Hauppauge and Ronkonkoma fire departments were called in to fight the fire.

The call for the fire was received around 5:30 a.m. and firefighters remained on the scene until roughly 2 p.m.

The fire is under investigation.