Crime & Safety
Fire Breaks Out In Home Next Door To Police Station: Cops
An officer saw flames through the window and raced to help; a juvenile playing with a lighter started the fire, police say.
PECONIC, NY — A fire broke out in a house next door to the Southold Police Department Thursday, police said.
According to Southold Town Police, at 3:36 p.m., while transferring gear from her police car at the end of her shift, Southold Police Officer Katie Johnson observed flames in a first floor window in the house next door to Southold Police headquarters.
After she notified dispatch, Johnson assisted in evacuating the occupants of the residence, including three adults and four juveniles, police said.
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Southold Police Officers Gregory Simmons and William Andrejack entered the house to make sure there was no one inside and found a mattress and box spring on fire; the blaze was knocked down using multiple fire extinguishers, police said.
The Southold Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire.
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An investigation by the Southold Police Department's detective division was conducted and it was determined that a juvenile who was playing with a lighter in the first floor bedroom was the cause of the fire, police said.
No one was injured, police said.
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