After a Smithtown Fire, Restoration Crews Must Now Wait Four Hours

The Smithtown Town Board voted unanimously on September 8 to adopt Local Law 9 of 2026, a new article in the town's peddling and soliciting chapter aimed at one trade. Board-up, restoration and remediation companies can no longer chase a fire truck to a scene in Smithtown, can no longer pitch a property owner while firefighters or investigators are still working, and have to wait four hours after the response ends before approaching the owner at all.

The law had its public hearing on May 21. It applies across the town, which takes in Kings Park, St. James, Nesconset, part of Commack and the Smithtown side of the Hauppauge Industrial Park.

Who it covers

The article defines two kinds of business. A board-up business boards, tarps or secures a structure damaged by fire, storm or another emergency. A restoration business repairs, restores, remediates or secures property damaged by fire, water, storm or another casualty. The rules also reach anyone engaged in similar activity.

The definition of solicitation is wider than the trade names suggest. It covers any attempt to win a contract or commitment for board-up, restoration or remediation work, and it also names insurance adjustment services. A public adjuster working the same scenes falls inside it.

The town did not create a license of its own. The law requires covered businesses to meet whatever licensing or registration Suffolk County already imposes, and says plainly that nothing in it establishes a separate town requirement.

What is now a violation

At the scene, a covered business may not interfere with fire, police, ambulance or fire investigation work, cross a perimeter or safety boundary that responders have set, or ignore a lawful order from the people running the scene. It may not approach an owner, occupant or anyone else present to solicit work while responders are still actively engaged. Emergency personnel or a police officer can order a company representative to leave the scene and the surrounding area, and refusing counts as a separate violation.

After the scene clears, the four hour rule takes over. No covered business may solicit the owner or occupant of the affected property for four hours after active emergency operations end, unless the owner or occupant starts the conversation.

Getting there is regulated too. A covered business may not follow a fire vehicle running its emergency lights in the same or an adjacent lane to reach a scene, and may not follow, pursue or monitor emergency radio traffic or emergency vehicles in order to arrive and solicit. It also may not park a vehicle or stand in a way that blocks emergency access.

Three further rules deal with how the trade presents itself. A representative must identify the company and show identification when responders or police ask. No one may claim or imply an affiliation with a fire department, police department or government agency, or say they were dispatched by one. And no company may pay anyone for information about where an emergency is happening or for steering the company to it.

Enforcement and penalties

The Town Fire Marshal, the Suffolk County Police Department and town code enforcement officers can all enforce the article. A violation carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to 15 days in jail, or both, and each violation is a separate offense. The law states that it does not change the existing authority of any fire department, fire marshal or incident commander.

Under state law a town's local law takes effect when it is filed with the New York Department of State, and the text Smithtown adopted does not set a later date.

Why it matters beyond one trade

The practices the law targets, scanner monitoring, paid tips about fire locations, and crews arriving before the hoses are rolled up, are how part of the restoration industry finds work. Smithtown has now made each of them a separate, chargeable offense, which changes the economics for any firm that relied on being first to the curb.

It also changes the position of the property owner. For four hours after a fire, the only restoration company that can talk to the owner of a damaged building is one the owner calls.

What it means for members

If your company does board-up, restoration, remediation or public adjusting work in Smithtown, stop any scanner driven dispatch and any payment for fire location tips there now, confirm your Suffolk County licensing is current, and make sure every crew carries identification it can produce on request, because each lapse is its own violation with a fine of up to $1,000. If you own or lease a commercial building in Smithtown, put an emergency board-up and restoration vendor under agreement before you need one. The law lets a company respond when the owner makes the call, so the business with a number already in hand is the one that gets its building secured first.