UPDATE: Fire Destroys Amagansett House, Kills Two Dogs

A house on Fresh Pond Road in Amagansett was destroyed by fire on Friday afternoon as firefighters battled a subsequent propane leak and water shortage.

For three hours, volunteers from the , , and fire departments were on scene at 68 Fresh Pond Road, where a fire was reported shortly after 3:30 p.m. According to Amagansett Fire Department First Assistant Chief PJ Cantwell, the homeowners and their friends had arrived earlier for the weekend, dropping off their dogs, before heading out to run some errands. They returned to a fiery scene.

Cantwell arrived on scene to find the house fully engulfed in flames. "Shortly thereafter the propane tank at the front of the house let go," he said. "The propane was coming out under pressure of the fire," he said, describing it like a blow torch.

The above-ground tank was venting after gas lines melted from the fire that appeared to have started inside the house, Cantwell said. Firefighters had to work on keeping the tank cool or it would explode, he said. "If that thing blows it could injure people a half-mile away."

Firefighters hooked hoses up to the nearest hydrant, about 1,000 feet away, but it became clear quickly, the chiefs said, that water was not flowing like it should.

"With limited water, our main concern went to keeping the tank cool," Cantwell said.

Chief Mark Bennett said hydrants are few and far between in that neighborhood -- and he'd like to see more. The nearest hydrant is at the end of a main, he said, adding that the pipes could have rusted from the inside or been infilitrated with sediment, disrupting the water flow. Bennett, who was at work when the fire broke out, started calling for tankers from neighboring departments while en route based on what he was hearing from Cantwell and his crew on the scene.

The was called for its Rapid Intervention Team in case firefighters needed assistance at the scene. A tanker and an East Hampton Fire Department engine also were on standby.

A cistern at the end of Golf Club Drive was also tapped, the chiefs said.

When tankers arrived, they helped fill a 3,000 gallon portable dump tank close to the driveway of the house. Once they got the lines to the propane tank shut off, they were able to extinguish the fire.

Bennett said that the two dogs -- believed to be Labs -- perished.

The homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. Bennett said he did not require transport to the hospital.

Cantwell said the front two-thirds of the house were burnt down to the first level, while the back third of the house was still standing. He called it a total loss.

Bennett said he understands the fire may have started in the kitchen, but said the East Hampton Fire Marshal's office would determine the exact origin and cause.

Members of the Amagansett Ambulance Company assisted the family at the scene, driving them to a pharmacy to pickup some medication that had been destroyed in the fire.