Crime & Safety

UPDATED: Campground Dining Hall Burns to Ground

Fire at Camp Wauwepex in Wading River limited to one building; no one hurt in blaze.

A fire at a Wading River Boy Scout campground burned a 5,000-square foot dining hall to the ground on Tuesday afternoon and resulted in no injuries.

According to Fire Marshal Dave Andruszkiewcz, a call to the Riverhead Police Department came in around 3:45 p.m. reporting smoke in the area.

Several local fire departments were subsequently called to the scene, including Wading River, Riverhead, Manorville, Ridge, Sound Beach, and Rocky Point, as well as Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services.

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The fire — located at Camp Wauwepex — was limited to Hickox Dining Hall, which was reportedly vacant at the time, and was under control by 5:45 p.m.

RELATED: Fire Chief says preliminary investigation uncovers .

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Andruszkiewcz said crews from the Riverhead Highway Department were on their way to demolish what was left of the structure. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The operator of the campsite, David Richardson, said the dining hall had been used as recently as Sunday. He was unsure what the cause could have been.

Camp Wauwepex is located within the Schiff Scout Reservation, on the south side near the intersection of Route 25A and Sound Avenue. According to the Boy Scouts' website, the campsite surrounds 30-acre Deep Pond and has been owned by the Boy Scouts of America since 1926.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the leveled structure was a cabin, and then a recreation hall. Both were incorrect.


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