Owner Grateful Easter Sunday Fire Damage Limited to Garage at Union Burger Bar in Southampton

Thanks to the efforts of staff and the rapid response of volunteer firefighters, an Easter Sunday evening storage garage blaze at Union Burger Bar on Bowden Square in Southampton Village was snuffed out — and owner Ian Duke couldn’t be more grateful.

Effusive in his praise for restaurant manager Fernando Flores and members of the Southampton Village Fire Department, he reported that the restaurant itself suffered little more than heat damage and was able to open as usual on Monday, April 10.

“We’re so blessed,” he said, noting the business was amenable to closing if it had to, but “we were thrilled that we got the all clear.

“It was certainly a lot better than what it could have been,” Duke added.

Southampton Village Fire Chief Manny Escobar, who commanded the scene with 2nd Assistant Chief Rick Fowler, agreed.

He, too, credited staff members who saw the smoke, called the fire in and tried to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers. “It could have been a lot worse,” the chief said. “Staff working with fire extinguishers slowed it down while we were getting there. That was a big help.”

“He saved the building,” Duke said of Flores.

Most important to both Duke and Escobar: The garage was empty and no one was injured. “The stuff? We can get new stuff,” Duke said, adding that he was thankful that everyone was safe.

As the holiday weekend drew to a close, firefighters got the call at approximately 10:41 on Easter Sunday night, March 9. Luck — a holiday weekend with lots of people around to witness and call in the emergency — plus still skies kept the fire contained to the garage, and the popular eatery, plus a residence next door — both just feet away from the flames — escaped.

“Thank God there was no wind,” Escobar said. “It would have spread. It was a calm night and the fire stayed where it was.”

The first unit on the scene found the building fully engulfed, Escobar said Monday morning. “You could see the flames in the rear of the building from the street,” he said. “The first unit on the scene quickly went to work.”

“They were here in about three and a half minutes,” Duke marveled. “On Easter Sunday!” He called the response “truly, truly remarkable.”

Praising quick thinking staff and rapidly responding volunteers, the restaurateur reflected, “Another couple of minutes and this whole building would have gone. We’re so grateful. So grateful. The community of people we have around us and how good these guys are at their jobs.”

Some 45 volunteers from his 135-person department responded to the scene, Escobar reckoned. Given the holiday and school break vacations, the chief said, “It was a good turnout.” Hoses, a chain saw, plus apparatus — four engines, a ladder truck, and a tanker — were on scene. Fire police closed the intersection of North Main Street and Bowden Square, while the ladder truck, parked at the rear of the restaurant, could enable a bird’s eye view of the fire. “We had it stationed and ready to use,” Escobar explained.

Ultimately, an attack at ground level was employed. Crews from Hampton Bays and North Sea provided assistance. North Sea counterparts sent a truck to the scene. The Hampton Bays Fire Department sent its Rapid Intervention Team and an engine to help fight the flames and check to ensure no one was inside the structure, no firefighters trapped. Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance and Southampton Volunteer Ambulance were both on the scene to conduct assessments of the volunteers as they fought the flames. No injuries were reported.

By 11:45 p.m. the main fire was knocked down, but crews stayed at the scene until almost 2 a.m. Monday morning. Village Police and the fire marshal were on the scene, the latter still working to ascertain the cause of the fire.

As the battle wore on, a rear wall collapsed. In the aftermath, Escobar said, portions of the garage were still standing, but “it was pretty destroyed.”

Monday afternoon, Duke quipped, unflappable and relieved, “There’s a chance we might be doing a barbecue special on Wednesday.”

Just one section of siding on the main building was damaged from the heat.

Escobar was just putting on a pot of coffee Sunday night, with plans to do computer research, when he got the call. When he came home some four hours later, the coffee pot was still sitting there.

“I was still awake when the call came in. Soon as I heard Union Burger — it’s such an amazing restaurant for us, the fire department, we love that place,” the chief said. “I thought it was going to be worse, and thank God it wasn’t.”

The admiration — and relief — is mutual.

“If you can’t feel great about an unbelievable community of people, when something like this happens, there’s something wrong with you,” Duke said. “It was just so impressive. We’re thrilled and honored to be a part of the community.”