Fire damages home; firefighter bit saving dog

EAST HAMPTON — A Dziok Drive family was displaced Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in the living room of their home.

The fire, reported at 8:33 p.m., was confined to the living room, according to Deputy Chief Martin Swan.

The one-story ranchstyle house, No. 14 Dziok Drive, was built in 1973 and measures 1,196 square feet, according to Assessor Gail Gwiazdowski.

No one was seriously injured in the blaze.

Approximately 25 to 30 East Hampton firefighters responded to the scene with four pieces of apparatus, Swan said. They were joined at the scene by Colchester’s specially trained Rapid Intervention Team.

Initially, the homeowner, one of two people at home, “was refusing leave the house,” Swan said.

An RIT is trained to enter a building and rescue people who are trapped inside. However, “Upon our arrival, she was out,” Swan added.

East Hampton firefighters “hit it pretty hard when they arrived, and had it knocked down within 15 to 20 minutes.”

The fire “most likely began in a piece of furniture,” according to Fire Marshal Rich Klotzbier. The damage was confined to the living room area, although there was heat and smoke damage throughout much of the house.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Klotzbier said.

While no one was seriously injured, an East Hampton firefighter did suffer a small bite on his hand as he tried to evacuate a scared dog from the home, Swan said. He was treated at the scene by an emergency medical technician.

However, because the dog bit the firefighter, it must be quarantined for 14 days, according to Regional Animal Control Officer Michael P. Olzacki.