BY JENNIFER BLECHER
STAFF WRITER
A fire ripped through a well-known pet store in West Islip yesterday, destroying the building and killing all but four of the hundreds of animals inside.
Bill Niehoff, the co-owner of BTJ's Jungle Pets & Aquarium, looked defeated yesterday as he watched more than 30 years of work and memories reduced to rubble. The shop, on the north service road of Sunrise Highway, was a family business for decades, one he and his brothers Tom and John had run since the early '90s.
He shook his head to a reporter's question, declining to talk.
[John Niehoff estimated that 25 dogs and half a dozen cats, 20 hamsters, 20 guinea pigs, 20 rabbits and at least 1,000 fish died in the fire, the Associated Press reported.] As well as a menagerie of exotic animals, including a Siamese turtle and a 3 1/2-foot alligator named Choppy.
Firefighters arrived about 3 a.m. Two suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which closed the westbound Sunrise Highway until 6 a.m. and the north service road until noon.
The Suffolk County Arson Squad said the cause was under investigation, but that it did not appear suspicious.
Jon Dairo, 21, who maintained aquariums there, arrived for work at 6 a.m. "The sky was dark," he said. "Every time they put out a flame, a bigger one popped up somewhere else. It was like a big war."
Niehoff's father, Walter, opened the store in 1969, after the aquariums in which he kept their growing collection of fish, frogs and turtles began to overrun their home. He called it BTJ, using his sons' initials.
"We had a lot of merchandise," said Mike Gash, 20, an employee. Because of the busy Christmas season, it had recently received 25 puppies. Some of the animals had been waiting to be picked up by new owners.
The four animals that survived -- a turkey, two ducks and a German shepherd that served as a guard dog -- were in the back of the store, the only part still standing yesterday.
The employees, some of whom had attended the store's Christmas party the night before, were visibly upset at the loss of the animals, which were considered part of a huge family.
Local residents wandered down the stretch of road and collected on the Higbie Lane overpass to see what was left of a store that had been a fixture in the neighborhood. One neighbor referred to it as "a landmark."
Another remembered the live reindeer the store had bought every Christmas to put on display.
The Islip Animal Shelter was called for a rescue attempt, but it was too late. "We sat there for five hours," said John Deluca, assistant supervisor at the shelter. "At 8 o'clock, we were told to leave. There was nothing we could do."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
