Early Wednesday Morning, at 3:00 a.m. the Cutchogue Fire Department was dispatched to respond to an Automatic Commercial Fire Alarm at the Braun Oyster & Seafood Company located on the Main Road in Cutchogue.

Upon arrival, the first arriving Fire Chiefs immediately noticed large amounts of smoke coming from the building with flames beginning to become visible from the rear of the of the building.

The alarm was reactivated as a working fire, and as part of our mutual aid plan the Mattituck and Southold Fire Departments were dispatched to respond to the scene to provide assistance.

Souhtold FD was initially requested to provide a rapid intervention team to stand by in the event of any firefighter emergencies, while Mattituck FD was requested to provide a ladder truck and engine to the scene.

Firefighters were able to gain entry to building and discovered a heavy smoke condition throughout the building and a working fire with flames visible in the rear of the warehouse portion of the building.

First-due Engine 8-5-4 arrived on the storefront side and stretched multiple handlines into the building.

As firefighters were making entry, flames intensified as the fire began to burn though the roof of the westside of the building.

CFD ladder truck 8-5-3 was placed into operation on the west side of the building using its aerial stream in attempt to knock down the flames while Mattituck FD ladder 8-6-8 began to operate in front of the building.

The building is home to the areas biggest seafood supplier, that not only sells retail, but also supplies fish and seafood to many of the East Ends Restaurants.

Additional handlines and a deck gun were placed into service during the fire, in order to protect hazards and exposures that included propane tanks, forklifts and other equipment.

Because of the size of the fire, multiple water supplies had to be established. Additional resources were requested from other 6 other North Fork Departments.

Tankers were requested from Mattituck, Jamesport, Southold and East Marion, and once on scene established a tanker shuttle to augment the multiple hydrants and fire well already in use.

Additional engines at the scene were provided by Mattituck FD, Southold FD and Jamesport FD., While Riverhead and Greenport provided Stand-by coverage at CFD and MFD firehouses.

Multiple Fire Police units also were on scene diverting traffic in the area.

Through the efforts of the firefighters, the fire was able to be contained to the warehouse portion of the business, and was prevented from spreading to the office, retail and kitchen spaces.

Nearly 75 Firefighters remained on scene until nearly 9:00 a.m. checking for any hot spots and extinguishing any remaining pockets of fire

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Suffolk County Police Arson Squad

The business is expected to be closed for a short time.

One firefighter was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Southold FD handled an additional EMS alarm that occurred during the fire.

Braun's Seafood and the Homan family have been a huge part of the Cutchogue Community and a proud supporter of CFD and many other organizations within our area. Braun's is one of many people who help make our Annual Chicken Barbecue a success each year.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with the Kenny Homan and the entire staff at Brauns as the work to rebuild ans re-open.