Fire Island Pines Fire 232 Bay Walk 1-13-2009

Fire Island Pines Brush fire 8-7-2014 17 dept. (News12)

Written by:  FIPFD

In 1959, the District established the Fire Island Pines Volunteer Fire Department to provide fire protection services to the community. The Water Island Fire Protection District has contracted the Pines Fire District to provide fire protection services to its community as well.Fire Island Pines is a hamlet of the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York. It is located on the barrier island of Fire Island, an island that stretches 32 miles along Long Island’s south shore, from Moriches Inlet on the east to Democrat Point on the west. Fire Island forms a barrier between the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The Pines is one of 17 distinct communities on Fire Island within the boundaries of the National Seashore. It was originally the site of a Coast Guard Station built in 1876 known as Lone Hill. It derives its name from the scrub pine trees in the area that according to legend started growing after a ship with pine trees and holly floundered off its coast in the late 1800’s. When the Fire Island National Seashore was established in 1964, Enabling Legislation stated that these communities and preexisting commercial uses would be allowed to remain as long as development was consistent with zoning ordinances established by the Secretary of the Interior.

There are approximately 750 residential homes within the boundaries of the Pines made up of 650 individual single-family houses and 100 co-operative apartments. There are no paved roads. There is one dirt road running east to west through the center of the community. Six-foot wide public boardwalks provide access to all the homes in the Pines. The community is approximately 1.5 miles long and .25 mile wide, and is located on the eastern portion of Fire Island. Currently, the population fluctuates from as little as 100 during the winter months to as many as 4,000 during the peak summer months. Water in the community is supplied by Suffolk County Water Authority. For fire protection purposes, a hydrant system with Class A Hydrants is installed along the dirt roadway with Class B Hydrants along the interior boardwalks.

In 2004 ISO assigned Fire Island Pines a Public Protection Classification of 4. The classifications number from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary fire protection and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum criteria. Both the District and the Department are very proud of our 4 rating.