Family: Illegal fireworks sparked fire that destroyed Patchogue home

When fire crews arrived, the exterior of the house was on fire. Forty members of the department worked to put out the flames.

News 12 Staff

Jul 5, 2021, 9:11 PM

Updated 1,235 days ago

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A Fourth of July house fire, sparked by apparent illegal fireworks, has left at least two families homeless in Patchogue.
Edwin Cajamarca says his relatives live on Thorne Street at the home involved in a call to the Patchogue Fire Department around 10 p.m. Sunday.
When fire crews arrived, the exterior of the house was on fire. Forty members of the department worked to put out the flames.
"Someone lit up a firework in the street and it hit the house," says Cajamarca. "The bush caught fire and the whole house ended up catching on fire."
Neighbor Tashana Small says eight people lived in home - all of whom are related. She says three people were home at the time of the fire but got out OK.
However, a family dog on the second floor died in the fire.
"It was just devastating and it's something that could be avoided if people had some common decency," says Small.
Cajamarca says the house is a total loss.
"Everything was ruined, everything was burned, nothing was saved, not even a pair of socks or anything," he says.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the families