Man found dead inside burned shed in Seaford

Police say no criminality suspected in fatal fire

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Seaford firefighters battled a shed fire on Illona Lane on July 8. A 71-year-old man was found dead in the remains.
Seaford firefighters battled a shed fire on Illona Lane on July 8. A 71-year-old man was found dead in the remains.
Jack Healy/Herald

A 71-year-old man was found dead in a burned-out shed behind a home on Illona Lane in Seaford on Saturday, police said. 

According to a public information officer at the Nassau County Police Department, the shed was in flames when the Seaford Fire Department arrived at the home, off Marina Park Drive, just after noon. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Police said that no criminality was suspected. Officials confirmed that the man’s death was being investigated as a suicide. 

Michael Bellissimo, the first assistant chief of the Fire Department, led the firefighters, who extinguished the backyard blaze in about 10 minutes. He said this was the first fatal fire in Seaford this year.

Bellissimo added that people, whom he presumed to be the man’s family members were in a house about 100 feet away from the shed when the fire broke out. He made sure all got out of the home safely. No one was injured, he said. 

The blaze damaged aluminum siding on the house and fencing bordering neighbors’ yards. No firefighters were hurt while battling the flames. 

Police and representatives of the Nassau County fire marshal’s office were still investigating the incident as the Herald went to press on Monday.