Late Saturday evening Cutchogue Firefighters joined together with the Southold Fire Department and other area fire departments to battle a blaze that destroyed a historic Southold Church.

In the end the blaze caused the Southold First Universalist Church that was built in 1860 to be totally destroyed.

The Southold Fire Department initially responded to the scene shortly before 11:30 p.m. when the fire was discovered by passing Southold Town Police unit noticed smoke coming from the church.

This building is familiar to the many travelers who pass through Southold as its stands on the large at the beginning of Southold Village across from the American Legion.

First arriving SFD units discovered a working fire that quickly escalated and spread throughout all parts of the large building.

After discovering the working fire the Cutchogue Fire Department was dispatched as mutual aid to provide a rapid intervention team to stand by at the scene in the event of any firefighter emergencies. Heavy Rescue 8-5-5 made the response and arrived on scene to assist.

As the fire escalated, additional mutual aid was requested from Cutchogue, Greenport, Mattituck, East Marion, and Shelter Island to the scene.

These requests brought an additional engine from CFD to the scene as well as additional ladder trucks and manpower from other departments.

At the height of the fire 3 tower ladders were put into operation to battle the flames that now broke through the roof and were consuming the bulk of the 150 year old building.

After several hours of hard work by the firefighters, the blaze was eventually knocked down. However firefighters would remain on scene throughout the day extinguishing hotspots and overhauling the building.

CFD firefighters returned home just after 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Suffolk County Police Arson Squad and the Southold Town Police Department and is not considered to be suspicious.

The Orient FD also provided Stand-by coverage at the Southold Firehouse during the fire.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the congregation of the Southold First Univeralist Church, as they deal with this difficult loss. The members of the Cutchogue Fire Department extend to them our best wishes as they take steps towards rebuilding.

Links: Southold Fire Dept. : http://www.southoldfd.com/