Blaze guts longtime firefighter’s home

A longtime Bridgehampton fireman was left homeless this week after his house burned to the ground Saturday morning.

Bridgehampton Fire Department volunteers responded to a fire at a house on Butter Lane in Bridgehampton at approximately 6 a.m. on Saturday. No one was home at the time and there were no reported injuries, although the owner’s pet dog and parrot died in the fire, according to Bridgehampton Fire Chief John Healey.

The homeowner, Frank Sayre, who has been a member of the Bridgehampton Fire Department for 49 years, was not home at the time of the blaze because he had been admitted to Southampton Hospital on Tuesday, December 9. He was taken there by his friends James and Rose Leonard of Noyac, who know him from the Bridgehampton Senior Nutrition Center.

The Leonards were at the house on Saturday morning after stopping by to check on Mr. Sayre’s dog, Sadie, and his parrot, which both died in the fire.

“Knowing he wasn’t feeling well, we came over when he didn’t come to the center” on Tuesday, Ms. Leonard said. “It’s a miracle he wasn’t home.”

Ms. Leonard said that on Friday she had noticed an odor coming from one of the rooms in the house, which is located just south of an entrance to the Hayground School. She said the room also appeared to be filling with smoke. She informed Mr. Sayre, who told her not to notify the fire department.

On Monday, Lorri Schneider, the assistant site manager at the nutrition center, said that other regular visitors to the center had agreed to put Mr. Sayre up in their house after he was released from the hospital.

“Frank’s a really great guy, and we’re so thankful he wasn’t home,” she said. She added that many seniors at the center have already agreed to offer Mr. Sayre assistance. Ms. Schneider, who is a co-president of the Kiwanas Club, said that club members are also planning to give Mr. Sayre a donation. The Fireman’s Benevolent Association is also planning to help Mr. Sayre get back on his feet again.

Chief Healey said on Saturday afternoon that it took nearly an hour to extinguish the flames and that the department had to call the neighboring Sag Harbor Fire Department for backup. “It was difficult because the floor and the roof had fallen into the basement,” he said. “There was a lot of debris.”

On Saturday morning, large clouds of gray smoke could be seen drifting across several nearby farm fields, more than a mile from the house, on Scuttlehole Road. Fire department members at the scene had initially believed that someone had been trapped inside the house. They later learned that the house was vacant aside from Mr. Sayre’s two pets.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Southampton Town fire marshal’s office.

Chief Healey said Wednesday that Mr. Sayre had been released from the hospital on Monday, and was staying with friends.