Ten Units Damaged At Atlantic Bluffs
Ten of the 56 units at the Atlantic Bluffs Club co-op in Montauk were destroyed by a fire there on May 9, the East Hampton Town sire marshal’s office said this week.
Two buildings, connected by a breezeway, were damaged in the fire, said fire marshal Tom Baker, who investigated the blaze said after he was able to get into the buildings for the first time. Four units were in the front building, which is parallel to Old Montauk Highway, and six were in the back building, which is perpendicular to the road.
As previously reported, the fire started when a maintenance worker was grinding metal brackets for a fireplace screen he was installing in a common room. The fire was deemed an accident, and spread quickly, in part, thanks to a sliding glass door that was open to the ocean breeze. The four units in the front, including the common room, suffered fire, smoke, and water damage, while the six in the back suffered some fire and residual water damage.
The units will likely need to be gutted, Baker said, though there is the possibility one of the buildings will need to be knocked down.
Though the two buildings are adjoined by an open stairwell covered by a roof, they are independent of each other, with their own basements, Baker said. He could not provide a dollar figure on the estimated damage.
“Everybody’s got their own insurance company,” Baker said, “and then the organization has an overall insurance company.”
The property’s certificate of occupancy dates back to 1982, though Baker said management had just completed renovation work, where new siding, decking, and exterior stairs were installed.
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