by Anthony Rifilato
The final day-long fire-setting rampage began around 1 p.m. last Wednesday behind the shopping center. A mattress was set afire behind China King, and the flames scorched the building, spread to the back of the restaurant and spilled inside to the electrical room. The fire could have sent the entire business up in flames had it not been for quick police and fire department response, police and nearby employees said.
Later that day, at around 5:30 p.m., a dumpster filled with discarded curtains and other flammable items was ignited behind Global Furniture. "We had a curtain inside the dumpster," said Global Furniture employee Dugan Magablah, who called police. "If this wall was not brick, the whole place would have caught fire."
This time, however, a woman saw two teens fleeing the scene, and within minutes she gave a description to police -- a description that wasn't surprising. "We knew we had a pattern here," said Detective Pete McGinn of the First Precinct's arson/bomb squad. "They don't just stop."
After nearly a month-long investigation, in coordination with the Nassau County Fire Marshall's office, police arrested Daniel Steiner, 19, of 92 President St. in Baldwin, and a 15-year-old male whose name is being withheld by police because he is a juvenile. The two were finally caught and arrested on Seaman Avenue and charged with a number of thefts and fires in the area.
"They would have done more," said McGinn. "It was not going to stop that night."
McGinn and his partner, Detective Mike Bartlett, have been investigating the arsons since Nov. 17, when there was a dumpster fire behind the shopping center. There was another fire there on Nov. 25, when a couch was ignited, and McGinn said both fires had the potential to become serious. "They start out as nuisances," said McGinn of the suspects. "Then they get bolder and bolder."
The teens were further emboldened on Dec. 3, and had the fire department and police on stand-by, waiting for the next fire, while police conducted a search. Not only did the teens ignite the marts behind China King and the dumpster behind Global Furniture, but some 45 minutes later they almost started a forest fire when they set fire to a park bench in nearby Brookside Preserve. "That could have been bad," said McGinn. "But the fire department was so vigilant."
The fires continued. At an automotive service station on Seaman Avenue just a few hours later, the teens piled dry leaves, twigs and other debris around three cars and a nearby fence, then set them ablaze. The vehicles, which included a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, were severely damaged. Because of the station's proximity to nearby homes, McGinn said, the fire could have been deadly if the cars or the station had exploded.
"The potential for that was huge," he said. "But the fire department, again, was right there."
McGinn said the teens used only matches and lighters to start their blazes, and were walking around town, igniting fires whenever they felt compelled. They often returned to the scenes to observe the ensuing chaos.
Little did they know that police had used video surveillance and eyewitness accounts to get a description. "[Video surveillance] was key to the case," said McGinn.
On Seaman Avenue, as fire crews worked to extinguish the car fires, McGinn and Bartlett noticed the teens across the street, and quickly arrested them.
Steiner was charged with three counts of third-degree arson, two counts of fourth-degree arson and two counts of fifth-degree arson. He was arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Dec. 4. The 15-year-old was charged with two counts of fourth-degree arson as well as fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar tools.
McGinn said the two were also suspects in a string of robberies, and that the 15-year-old was carrying items reported stolen from the Baldwin railroad station earlier that day, including a car radio.
Steiner already has a troubled past. A former Baldwin High School student, he was expelled in the 11th grade and had just been released from jail, McGinn said. He had been living in a hotel in Massapequa and was on welfare.
"He knows the area and hangs out with kids from Baldwin," said McGinn, who added that he did not know if the other teen was a student at the high school.
Some business owners at the shopping center said they were relieved that the teens were caught. But Magablah said he is still concerned about other students who gather at the back of the shopping center after school, where, he said, they jump on Global's mattresses and curtains.
"Sometimes they take the mattresses and throw them around," he said. "We can't really do anything about it, though there is a police patrol."
McGinn said that Steiner admitted setting the Nov. 25 fire behind the shopping center, and despite Steiner's criminal behavior in the past, McGinn believes he set the fires out of desperation or boredom. "I believe it was a call for help," said McGinn, noting Steiner's poor living conditions and unemployment. "It's emotional. He probably has deep-seated problems."
