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Cops: Suspicious Selden fire was definitely arson
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A vacant house and a car left abandoned in the garage are among the puzzle pieces as Suffolk County Police Department arson investigators attempt to figure out what happened Tuesday on Berkeley Avenue in Selden.
This much is known: The empty house at 26 Berkeley Ave. and the Mitsubishi left in the home's garage burned to a crisp in a fire investigators quickly labeled suspicious. No injuries were reported and no neighboring homes were damaged.
Emergency responders including the Selden and Centereach fire departments sprung into action around 1 am Tuesday after the first fire calls rang out. The fire consumed the house before Selden firefighters, with mutual aid from Centereach, knocked down the flames.
Detective Sgt. Edward Fitzgerald of the SCPD's Arson Section said investigators brought in an "accelerant dog" after the fire was out and also sent samples from the fire scene to the SCPD crime lab, and "we have eliminated actual causes." The house has been vacant since 2006 , according to Fitzgerald.
The owner of the home died in a motor vehicle accident in 2006, added Fitzgerald, who wasn't sure why the owner's Mitsubishi coupe was still in the garage at the time of the fire. Other "stuff" remained in the house as well, he added, and as of press deadline, the sergeant said he wasn't sure what happened to the rest of the family.
Debbie Felber, president of the Selden Civic Association, lives not too far from the house and said she wasn't sure what had happened to the family. "This is what happens when a house gets abandoned," Felber said. "People get in and vandalize it or start a fire. We do have quite a few homeless people in the area and a lot of bored teenagers, too."
The Arson Section is asking anyone with information on this fire to call 852-6024. A reward is being offered by the Arson Task Force for information leading to an arrest.
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