In Baldwin, Grand Avenue blaze is 'suspicious'

The second fire in less than three weeks in Baldwin's downtown — in a building on Grand Avenue, across from Baldwin Bowl, on May 20 — appears "suspicious," according to Baldwin Fire Department officials.

There was no official word on the cause of the fire from the Nassau County fire marshal's office as the Herald went to press on May 24, but Baldwin officials say the fire marshal conducted an investigation before the severely damaged building was demolished late last week.

"For undisclosed reasons, the fire was deemed 'suspicious,'" said Christopher Schwenker, deputy chief of the Baldwin Fire Department.

Schwenker would not elaborate because the fire marshal had not yet made an official determination. But two fires in the building in as many years, coupled with the fact that the area will ultimately be razed to make way for the downtown revitalization project, were reason enough for some fire officials to suspect that something was amiss.

Pariq Khan, president of ADZZ Realty, which has owned the building for the past eight years, said he was very upset not only because of the fire, but the fact that the building had been demolished.

"It's not a good thing," Khan said. "Seeing your investment go down the drain ... I'm a hard-working guy who had the property ... and it went up in flames."

When told that the fire had been deemed suspicious, Khan said he had not heard about that.

The May 21 fire started at about 8:30 a.m., according to the Baldwin F.D. Because their headquarters are just a few yards from the building, firefighters were on the scene almost immediately, but the fire quickly spread to several adjacent businesses, including the Mambo Cafe, a laundromat, a hair salon and the Baldwin Psychic Shop. Firefighters assembled on the roof, on both sides of the building and inside the stores and second-floor apartments, but were forced to fight the blaze from the outside after the building's brick front wall collapsed.

The fire was extinguished within a couple of hours, but fire units remained on the scene until about noon. Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles.

The only reported injuries were those of a few firefighters. But Baldwin Fire District Supervisor Jerry Brown reported that "all injured firefighters from this fire were out of the hospital as of [May 24]."

Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino, who is heading up the downtown revitalization plan, said the fire was regrettable, but would not deter the town's plans for the area.