Halesite Fire Guts Car Repair Shops

By Priya Persaud

On Friday, August 5th, 2022, a fire erupted at 29 New York Ave. in Halesite, Huntington. The fire eventually engulfed the building that houses two auto shops, Tom’s Auto Refinishing and Collision and Hendrickson Car Care.

While no major injuries were reported, some firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation.

According to witnesses, the fire began when a car exploded and flames erupted. As the flames grew in size, waves of heavy smoke swept through the building at the corner of Creek Road and New York Avenue.

Suffolk County police arrived at the scene at 3:38 PM. Deputy fire coordinator for the Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Steve Silverman reported that 12 departments responded to blazing fire.

"It took approximately three hours for the emergency responders to get the fire under control,' stated silverman. "And the building sustained severe damage."

Several firefighters had to be treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, and one of the workers from the auto businesses had to be taken to Huntington Hospital due to leg injury.

Firefighters from departments in Huntington, Halesite, Greenlawn, Northport, and others responded to the blazing fire.

The Major Emergency Response Vehicle, MERV, was deployed by Suffolk County Fire and Rescue to utilize drones to find hot spots in the burning building. The Huntington Community First Aid Squad also immediately responded.