Passerby Alerts Dix Hills Family to House Fire

A Good Samaritan who was passing by a Dix Hills home on Sunday afternoon noticed that a brush fire was burning nearby, threatening the house, according to a representative of the Dix Hills Fire department.

Peter Demidovich, a real estate agent from Melville, first believed the smoke he spotted was coming from a barbecue but luckily took a closer look and saw the brush fire that was, according to Dix Hills Fire Department representative Steve Silverman, "blazing dangerously close to a home at 17 Suncrest Drive" around 3:25 p.m.

Silverman reported that Demidovich quickly went and "banged on the front door of the home to alert the five residents, and called the Dix Hills Fire Department to respond."

In all, three engines, an ambulance, and other units were sent to the fire with 25 firefighters and rescue personnel among the first responders.

"The blaze was controlled within 20 minutes, under the command of Chief Tom Magno and Third Assistant Chief Alan Berkowitz," according to Silverman. "The fire involved brush and pool supplies at the side of the house, and burnt a 10 by 12 foot area."

Firefighters put out the fire and set up a large fan to remove smoke from the house. Silverman said that the fire might have been started by a pool heater. There were no injuries reported.