Westhampton, NY – BY CYNTHIA DANIELS, Newsday.com
A house explosion in Westhampton Beach rocked a small community early yesterday evening, Westhampton Beach police said.
The explosion occurred at 26 Stevens Lane at around 6:40 and was felt at the police station about three-quarters of a mile away. The home belongs to the parents of Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, creator of the Shoshanna clothing line and former girlfriend to comedian Jerry Seinfeld, police said.
“We thought they were testing a mortar at the country club for tomorrow night’s fireworks,” said police communications Officer Charlie Benkov. “Then we got a call that the house actually exploded.”
Two people in the house at the time escaped the fire unharmed, police said. No firefighters were injured.
Benkov said the cause of the fire was a gas leak but its origin was still being investigated.
Six fire departments, including Center Moriches and Eastport, and one ambulance department were called to the scene, fire officials said. By aboutp.m., the fire was extinguished and neighbors who had been evacuated were returning to their homes.