What’s going on the the community of Seaview came up during an Ocean Beach Board of Trustees meeting on July 18, when Ocean Beach Fire Department (OBFD) Chief George Hesse said the department, which covers the eastern neighboring community, had informed the Town of Islip that Seaview’s water supply is deficient, potentially leaving the community vulnerable to fire.
Unlike western communities such as Kismet, Saltaire, Dunewood, and Lonelyville, which are connected to the Suffolk County Water Authority, Seaview depends on a series of wells for its water supply.
“We can fight a fire four blocks into Seaview from Surf View,” Ocean Beach Mayor James Mallot said at the meeting. “After that, we need to supply pumpers, go to the dock in Seaview, draft, and then relay to wherever the fire is. It’s not an ideal situation.”
In a series of correspondences shared with Fire Island News, the Village of Ocean Beach and Seaview included a June 11 letter from Ocean Beach Police Department (OBPD)/Ocean Beach Fire Department Chief George Hesse to Thomas Ruskin, president of the Seaview Association, which reads:
“I am writing to formally address serious concerns regarding the current conditions of Seaview’s water supply and the potential impact on emergency fire suppression capabilities. It was brought to my attention by Seaview Water Manager Larry Mattiasen that Seaview’s water system is currently operating on a single well rather than the normal two wells that supply the community. There is significant concern that increased seasonal demand may have adversely affected available water pressure and fire flow necessary for firefighting operations.”
“I respectfully request that the Seaview Association provide a written status update regarding the water system, any corrective actions currently being undertaken, and an estimated timeline for restoration of full system capacity.”
In response, Ruskin wrote the following in response to Hesse:
“These conditions have been known to the Seaview Water Company and existed in varying degrees for several years. In fact, the limitations associated with our pre-existing well system were a significant factor in pursuing the extensive permitting, engineering, regulatory approvals and financial commitments necessary to construct a new well.”
“The same conditions existed during the significant structure fires that occurred in Seaview in 2022, including residences on Beach Walk and on Atlantic Walk. To my knowledge, neither during those firefighting operations nor in their aftermath did the Ocean Beach Fire Department raise concerns regarding water availability, water pressure, or the operational capability of Seaview Water Company’s system in supporting firefighting efforts.”
“Furthermore, during the recent structure fire on Friday, April 24, 2026, in Ocean Beach at 165 Bayview, the Ocean Beach Fire Department requested Seaview Water Company assistance and immediately fully opened the interconnection between our two communities’ water systems.”
“This year alone, Seaview residents paid over $384,000 of the Fire Department’s budget. Seaview’s decision to retire our original 40-year-old failing well and invest $2 million in the construction of a new well has no relationship to the taxes our residents pay for infrastructure improvement designed to increase capacity and long-term sustainability of Seaview’s privately owned and operated water system.”
According to documents from the OBFD, a 2023 structure fire in Seaview and the April 24, 2026 fire in Ocean Beach cited by Ruskin did not use water supplied by Seaview. Instead, both fires relied exclusively on water supplied by Ocean Beach.
Neighboring to the east, Ocean Bay Park Fire Department (OBPFD) has expressed the same concerns.
In additional correspondence with Fire Island News, OBPFD Chief James Williams expressed in a letter to Ruskin that “we are focusing the department on contingency plans and modifying drills to accommodate the current limitation.”
“Additionally. The inter-connect water valves between Ocean Bay Park/ Seaview and between Ocean Beach/Seaview that allow additional water to be supplied to Seaview hydrants during emergencies are currently inoperable.”
Ruskin, in reply to the inter-connect valves for the hydrants in Seaview being inoperable, stated, “They are property of the Suffolk County Water Authority and not Seaview’s and have been inoperable for over a decade.”
In an interview with Fire Island News, Fire Chief George Hesse explained, “Everyone thinks it is easy to draft water from the bay, but there are many obstructions around. The pumps are only so strong to draw water. The capacity to keep up with pumping is 1,500 gallons a minute; Seaview’s capacity for that one well is 10 minutes’ worth of water. If we hooked into their hydrants, we could use all their water in 10 minutes. We have a plan in place to draft from the bay on hard suction hoses that go into the water, but it would be easier to have hydrants that work instead.”
