Commack Woman Burned In Early Morning House Fire

A Commack woman was burned in an early Monday morning house fire on Elder Drive. 

The Commack Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a house fire on Elder Drive at 4:57 a.m. Monday. More than 75 Commack firefighters with units from Hauppauge and Kings Park fire departments responded to the scene, according to Patrick Fazio, Commack Fire District commissioner. 

Suffolk police said a woman, 40, stepped outside to fill up her generator with gas and inadvertently spilled some on her clothing and outside of the gas can. When she stepped inside the house to clean up, the flame of a nearby candle ignited the gasoline vapors coming from the gas can. The woman's clothing also caught on fire. 

Firefighters arriving on the scene found the back of the two-story Elder Drive home was fully engulfed in flames. Crews brought the fire under control in approximately 30 minutes while working to stop the fire from spreading to a neighboring home. 

The woman suffered non-life threatening burns and was transported via Commack Volunteer Ambulance  to Stony Brook Hospital's Burn Center for treatment. 

"It was a wonderful job by Commack firefighters to prevent injuries and preventing extension to another home," Fazio said.  

Both Suffolk County Police Arson Squad and Town of Smithtown fire marshals were called to the scene of the fire to investigate its cause. Fazio had no comment on the cause of the fire. 

Commack Fire commissioner Jack O`loughlin, one of the first to arrive on the scene, said investigators will be looking into whether the fire is tied to a portable generator that was being used by the homeowner to provide electricity after Hurricane Sandy. 

"People need to exercise extreme caution when using portable generators. If you don’t know ask questions," Fazio said.