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Firefighters battle shed blaze on Shade Tree Lane

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The Riverhead Fire Department quickly extinguished a shed fire on Shade Tree Lane in Aquebogue Thursday afternoon.

The fire sparked shortly before 2 p.m. and the homeowner first attempted to put out the fire himself with an extinguisher, but two propane tanks stored inside caught fire, Bill Sanok, public information officer for Riverhead Fire Department, said at the scene.

“It just got out of hand before he knew what was going on,” he said, adding the homeowner called 911 to report the fire.

While the propane tanks fueled the fire, they didn’t explode, Mr. Sanok said.

“It was almost like a blow torch,” he said.

The fire also spread to a nearby shed. The first shed was destroyed and a part of the second one was badly damaged.

Both fires were quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.

About 40 firefighters and four fire trucks responded to the scene. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance also responded as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by fire marshal, Mr. Sanok said.

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Photo credit: Riverhead Fire Department

Correction: Due to an editing error, Mr. Sanok’s first name was stated incorrectly in an earlier version of this story.