Former LI 'Batmobile' Replica Barn Ablaze: 'It Is A Devastating Loss'

JAMESPORT, NY — A devastating fire Saturday night gutted a Jamesport potato barn once used for the creation of replica Batmobiles and other custom cars, officials said.

According to the Riverhead Fire Department, at 9:10 p.m. Saturday night, they were dispatched as mutual aid to 1795 Main Road in Jamesport for a structure fire. That address is the address where Batrodz Resurrection Garage was located, according to records.

"The first responding units found a potato barn fully involved," Jamesport firefighters said. The Riverhead Fire Department assisted the Jamesport Fire Department at the scene, along with the Mattituck Fire Department. Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance stood by in case of any injuries, and the Flanders-Northampton Fire Department stood by at the Jamesport firehouse, fire officials said.

The scene was turned over to Riverhead fire marshal for investigation, the Riverhead Fire Department said, adding that the blaze was extinguished by about 11:30 p.m.

Former Riverhead Fire Chief Steve Beal said that when they arrived, the fire was raging through the roof, which collapsed.

Owneer of Batrodz Resurrection Garage James Benken said he has not done any form of commercial work for customers in quite a few years. "That barn was only used for my personal storage and project builds of my own," he said.

He wrote about the fire on Facebook on Sunday.

"At around 9 p.m. last night, we had a fire in my building and it’s a total loss," he said. "I would like to thank the Jamesport, Riverhead and Mattituck Fire Departments, the Riverhead fire marshal’s office and EMS for responding and trying to help us. I would also like to thank all my friends and family that reached out to me. It’s truly appreciated. As for me — I have no idea what I’m going to do. Everything I own was in that building. It was my second home for the past 27 years. It’s a devastating loss, to say the least."

But, he added: "The outpouring from the community is amazing. I had no idea how many people had heard of me and the cars I've built in the past. I thought I was just another guy in an old barn nobody cared about. I'm shocked."

According to a post in the Riverhead News-Review in 2011, Benken recreated not just Batmobiles but also a Monkeemobile, "designed after the modified Pontiac GTO driven by the Monkees in their 1960s television show" as well as an A-Team van, the Batcycle and the Knight Rider car.