Hoping for the “slightest chance of a miracle,” a family member sent a photo of a dog missing since a massive Hamptons fire this weekend.
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WATER MILL, NY — A beloved dog is still missing after fire ripped through a Water Mill home Sunday — and his family is heartbroken.
According to Southampton Fire Department Public Information Officer Chris Brenner, Chief Manny Escobar said that Nikko, the family’s dog, was reported to be in the house — but no fire official ever found him. And, as of Sunday, Escobar said that Nikko was officially still missing.
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Lt. Todd Spencer, public information officer for Southampton Town Police, also said that a dog was reported to have been in the residence. “However, no one observed him escape” and the dog was not found inside the home, he said. “It is unknown if the dog was even actually inside,” he said.
A police report about the fire said that while attempts were made to get inside and rescue the dog, those efforts were unsuccessful.
Nikko, Brenner said, “could have escaped.” He added that while the scenario was grim, because Nikko has not yet been found, a “glimmer” of hope remained.
Antonella Ungaro, a relative of the family whose home was lost, reached out to Patch: “Nikko was 17 years old and with age he became blind and deaf,” she said. “Sadly, he probably did not have the instinct to react given his age and disabilities.”
She sent his photo to share, “in the hope that there is the slightest chance of a miracle.”
Nikko, she said, “was part of a loving, attentive, caring family — which is probably why he made it to 17 years. He will be greatly missed by all who loved him.”
According to Brenner, the fire broke out at 2:43 p.m. at a home on Farmstead Lane off Blank Lane.
The family who resides in the house was not home; a neighbor called in the blaze, Brenner said.
“It was reported that there was a dog inside,” he said. “As of Sunday, no dog had been found.”
The North Sea, Bridgehampton, Hampton Bays, Sag Harbor, East Hampton and East Quogue Fire Departments responded to the scene; the Southampton Volunteer Ambulance and Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance also responded for firefighter assessment, he said.
One fireman was transported to the hospital with heat exhaustion, Brenner said. Southampton Fire Chief Escobar was in charge of the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.
