Fire Marshal: 'Catastrophic' Electrical Event Caused Montauk Blaze

Fire marshals believe they have figured out the cause of the blaze that destroyed two small houses in the Montauk Shores Condominiums on Deforest Road last week.

Tom Baker, the fire marshal leading the investigation, said on Friday that he believes it was a "catastrophic event regarding the electric service or the electric panel" in unit 100, the southern building. The flames spread to unit 101 to the north, which is about 12 to 15 feet away, causing irreparable damage, he said.

Fire marshals said earlier this week that they were working with insurance investigators to determine the cause of the Nov. 13 fire.

Switches and outlets "vaporized," Baker said. He couldn't even find remnants of them in the debris. The electric panel was "just dust," too, he said, which leads him to believe a "Dropped Neutral" event may have taken place. Such an event occurs when the voltage coming into the building through the electrical panel doesn't get separated out between, for instance, 220 volts for larger electrical equipment, and 110 volts for smaller pieces.

Why this incident occurred is unknown, however, Baker noted that the mobile home park is oceanfront. "Saltwater is the worst thing for electric wiring," he said. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 may have brought more saltwater to the park than usual, he said.

The fire marshal's office is scheduling an inspection of the public areas in the park, like the clubhouse, and hopes to survey the other mobile homes. "The management of the property is working with us to make it even safer," he said.

The Montauk Shores Condominiums is a gated community located on more than 20 acres on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded more than 65 yeas ago, according to its website.

Baker said he it was fortunate no one was in the house when the fire started, because he believes the whole building went up in flames quickly.

"Most likely, it super-heated the place and burst out flames everywhere," he said. If the fire started in the electric panel, flames would have likely blocked the egress from master bedroom.

The building the fire started in was built in the 1980s. Both buildings that were destroyed were wood construction and sat on metal carriages, though the house to the north was newer construction.

"It's very scary. We're just happy no one was hurt," Baker said. "Hats off to the Montauk Fire Department for protecting the other homes," he said.

East Hampton Fire Department firefighter and photographer Michael Heller captured some photos at the scene.Click here for those photos.