April 10, 2012
(Manorville, N.Y.) – Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone said that the brush fire in the Ridge-Manorville Area now appears contained, but reiterated that agencies will remain vigilant over the next several days to guard against flareups.
“The interagency coordination involved in fighting this fire was phenomenal,” Bellone said, referring to local, county and state agencies that all took part in the effort. “This could have been much more devastating than it was. Our volunteer firefighters and first responders answered the call, and resources provided by New York State officials were absolutely critical.”
About 1,000 acres were burned during the brush fires, and nine structures in the region were either fully or partially damaged. There were 109 different agencies from Suffolk County that were activated during the effort to contain the blaze, and several more from neighboring Nassau County. In fighting the blaze, three firefighters were injured on Monday, including one firefighter who was hospitalized.
Bellone thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for providing the resources of his office, which worked in coordination with local officials to prevent the brush fires from doing much more damage.
The Governor declared a state of emergency in Suffolk County, which will provide New York State with greater flexibility in providing resources for recovery efforts.
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