By:Laura Lane
The Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office reported blazes at:
¥A Benson Lane home, on April 2, at 8:45 p.m.
¥Grace Reform Baptist Church, 36 Smith St., on Feb. 16, at 10:15 p.m.
¥An unidentified barbershop in Merrick.
There were no injuries in the blazes, and local fire departments quickly extinguished the fires.
Stephen Wenk, the county's assistant fire marshal, said that in two of the incidents -- at the Benson Lane home and the barbershop -- gasoline was poured on the structures and ignited, leading officials to suspect arson.
Barry Fox, president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association, has spoken with the Benson Lane homeowner, whom he described as "terrified." The homeowner declined to be interviewed. Apparently, a week before the Merrick Fire Department responded to the blaze at the home on April 2, a similar fire had broken out there that the homeowner didn't call in to authorities.
"I'm really worried," said Fox. "There might be a fire bug in Merrick."
Officials are urging residents to remain calm. "It's a possibility there can be arson, but I stress 'possibility,'" Wenk said. Sometimes it's a series of coincidences. The next step is to ask the Merrick Fire Department for a run sheet of all the alarm fires for the last 60 days and look for a pattern."
William Gies, the Merrick fire chief, said the Benson Lane fire may have been construction-related. The homeowner, who has owned a local restaurant for 15 years, was renovating his house at the time. Gies also believes the blaze at Grace Reform Baptist might have been constructed-related, as it, too, was being remodeled at the time of the fire.
Wenk said said he planned to meet with the two fire marshal investigators who are looking into the blazes, George Laakso and Eugene Pietzk, but at press time he had not yet done so.
