Cause of Sag Harbor fire will never be known: fire officials

Buildings were so badly damaged that further investigation is reportedly impossible

Gloomy day in my favorite little place & second home, Sag Harbor. So sad to see this beautiful icon destroyed.

A photo posted by Kate Sherwood (@katemariex93) on

The cause of last month’s catastrophic fire along Main Street in Sag Harbor is unlikely to ever be determined, fire officials said.

Compass [TRDataCustom] and Brown Harris Stevens’ offices in Sag Harbor, as well as a historic cinema, were destroyed in a massive fire that tore through Main Street on Dec. 16. East Hampton Chief Fire Marshal David Browne told the New York Post that, because two buildings were razed, is impossible to really know the cause.

“A lot of what was there was gone,” he told the Post. “There’s not much we can really find.”

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East Hampton Fire Marshal Tom Baker said his decision to cut power in the area immediately after the fire also makes it difficult to understand the cause. He requested the power be cut to keep the 300 firefighters safe, but it now means he is unable to assess the voltage at the time of the blaze.

Baker has ruled out cigarettes as the cause of the fire, despite some reports cigarette butts were found nearby.

“We found cigarette butts everywhere in Sag Harbor,” he said. “We can’t pinpoint the fire to a cigarette — and we found burning in places where a cigarette couldn’t have gotten.”

After the blaze, Suffolk County fire investigators ruled out criminality, saying there was “nothing suspicious” about it. The investigation is now over, according to Baker, “unless someone comes forward with information.” [NYP]Miriam Hall