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An early morning fire destroyed a house on Edge of Woods Road in Southampton on December 9. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
When Southampton Fire Department Chief Alfred Callahan pulled onto North Main Street on the way to a structure fire on Edge of Woods Lane, he could see the fire’s glow.
“Halfway down North Main Street, I started to see embers coming down,” he related.
It was just before 12:30 on the morning of December 9, and, recalling a recent fire in Bridgehampton that quickly spread to other houses, Callahan was thankful it wasn’t too windy.
Arriving on the scene, Callahan saw movie producer Oren Aviv’s house was completely engulfed in flames. Set on more than 2 acres, the mansion wasn’t near other houses — but there were the surrounding woods to worry about.
And despite a relative calm, and a rapid extinguishing of the blaze that completely destroyed the mansion, firefighters were called back to the scene some 12 hours later to put out a small fire in the woods near the house on Edge of Woods Lane.
In all, some 70 firefighters from six area departments participated in dousing the conflagration. The house, which appeared to be under construction, according to responders, was destroyed.
Nine engines and two ladders trucks were on the scene. A brush truck was used to get into the woods and put out small fires that erupted in the trees and understory, ignited by falling and blowing embers and debris.
The Sag Harbor Fire Department’s Rapid Intervention Team was called out, as is the case with house fires. But when it became clear they couldn’t get into the blazing structure, volunteers assisted outside. Due to the home’s proximity to their district, the North Sea Fire Department was activated at the same time as Southampton.
The Hampton Bays Fire Department provided coverage for Southampton and moved up when that unfounded call of a second house on fire in the district came through. East Quogue was called in to provide coverage while firefighters from Bridgehampton covered North Sea.
Southampton Volunteer Ambulance was at the scene to provide rehab for the volunteers, and Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance stood by for any other calls in the district.
Callahan ran the scene and expressed thanks for all the departments that responded to assist. “We had a good turnout,” he said.
He was grateful, too, for the night’s balmy weather. Fighting fires during the winter can be particularly dangerous, with ice forming on snow-covered terrain as water is sprayed, making the ground slippery. Ice forms on the ground and on firefighters’ gear.
The chief explained that, during the summer, it’s relatively easier for volunteers who become overheated to recover — they just remove their gear. During the cold winter months, however, it’s harder to recover and warm up. There were no injuries reported in the Aviv fire. The house was unoccupied.
Aviv became known for producing the “National Treasure” movies in 2004 and 2007, as well as the “Bad Moms” movies in 2016 and 2017. According to The Real Estate Report Inc., he and his wife, Katherine, purchased the property just last June for $6 million.
The Southampton Town fire marshal’s office is investigating. Said Chief Fire Marshal John Rankin, “We don’t have a definitive cause. There’s still some information we need to get.”
It was a busy morning. The fire at the Aviv house was brought under control in about 30 minutes, but soon there was a new worry. Someone called in a second house fire. As it turned out, the caller was reporting the same fire. “Thank God,” Callahan said.
