N.Y. Man Escapes Arson Fire By Jumping From Home

March 28, 2012
A Lake Ronkonkoma man and his two teenage sons barely escaped early Tuesday from an arson fire that damaged much of his two-story home, authorities said.

March 27--A Lake Ronkonkoma man and his two teenage sons barely escaped early Tuesday from an arson fire that damaged much of his two-story home, authorities said.

Suffolk police said they were investigating the fire and vandalism to two of the family's cars.

The fire began on the porch of the blue, wood-frame home about 1:40 a.m. and may have been started with available materials there, said Dep. Insp. Harold Jantzen, who commands the major crimes bureau. He said investigators found no flammable liquids or materials used to accelerate the fire.

Anthony Rooney, 40, said Tuesday he and his sons, ages 19 and 15, fled from the home after he noticed the fire, and he said he jumped from a second-floor window.

"I was dead asleep" when the fire started, Rooney said. He awakened when the fire alarm went off and ran to the top of the staircase, where he saw an "orange glow" downstairs.

Rooney said he yelled to his two sons that there was a fire and "they came running out of their rooms in a panic." Once outside, Rooney realized one of the family's three teacup Yorkies, Sierra, was still in a second-story bedroom. He ran inside to get the dog.

"The smoke was getting thick, and I was getting winded from running this way and that way after the dog," Rooney said. He opened a window and tossed the dog to his older son.

Rooney jumped from the second-story window and said he hurt his back and neck when he landed on a bird bath.

Jantzen said arson investigators consider the fire suspicious. Investigators are not aware of any disputes Rooney may have had, Jantzen said. There was no dollar estimate of the damage Tuesday, officials said.

Police said both Rooney's Hummer and BMW, which were parked near the house on Weichers Street, were damaged by someone who scratched an obscenity onto the sides of the vehicles.

Fire departments from Ronkonkoma, Lakeland, Holbrook, Nesconset and Holtsville responded to the blaze, the county Fire Marshal's Office said.

Destroyed inside, Rooney said, were heirlooms like mounted animal heads, which were souvenirs from hunting trips with his father and sons. "A lot of memories are gone," he said.

As he watched investigators move through his home, he said he felt lucky his sons hadn't been injured. "I'll never forget the terror in my sons' faces," Rooney said. "That's something a father should never see," he said.

Police said anyone with information could call the Suffolk County Arson Squad at 631-852-6024 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477.

With Gary Dymski

Copyright 2012 - Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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