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Correction: Fire guts upstairs room of Marc Street house

Heavy smoke poured from an upstairs room of this house at 16 Marc Street Tuesday afternoon while firefighters on the scene were delayed in being able to get water to the scene.
Heavy smoke poured from an upstairs room of this house at 16 Marc Street Tuesday afternoon while firefighters on the scene were delayed in being able to get water to the house.

In an original post yesterday evening, we mistakenly reported that firefighters responding to a blaze in an upstairs room at 16 Marc Street were delayed up to half an hour getting water on the fire.

This is untrue, according to Fire Department Chief Anthony Reiter, who told the Reporter, “We had plenty of water on the trucks as a primary source. We had issues getting the secondary supply to the trucks, but we already had water on the fire within minutes.”

The Reporter regrets the error.

Below is the original story.

A late afternoon fire at 16 Marc Street swept through an upstairs room Tuesday afternoon pouring heavy smoke through the window and roof. Shelter Island firefighters quickly determined that no one was home at the time.

The call came in shortly after 4 p.m. and the department responded rapidly to the site at the end of the cul de sac on Marc Street. They called for backup from Greenport , which  sent a truck joining several Shelter Island fire trucks and ambulances at the scene.

One firefighter was assisted from the premises while an EMT explained that the protocol in a smoke situation is to pull firefighters out after a short time to ensure they are getting oxygen before they’re allowed to return to the scene.

A cat, smelling of smoke, emerged and was cuddled in a blanket by an EMT while another provided oxygen to the animal that seemed none the worse for wear.

Jane Ritzler is listed in the Shelter Island phone book as the resident of the house.

Firefighters expected to remain at the scene for some time to ensure there would be no sparks and eventually, to determine the cause of the fire.

This is a developing story and more information will be provided as it becomes available.

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