Another Vacant House Catches Fire In Forest Hills
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Firefighters in Forest Hills, Queens, battled flames at another vacant house fire overnight.
Investigators are trying to determine if the blaze is connected to a rash of recent arsons in the area, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
Just before midnight Wednesday, a home under renovation on 67th Drive was ravaged by flames. It is the seventh similarly suspicious fire in or around Forest Hills in a month.
"Three of the fires have been determined to be incendiary for sure. The other ones are under investigation," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
The fires are sparking fear in the predominantly Jewish neigborhood, recalling dark, historical precedence.
"The whole family, we're all devastated," said the homeowner of the latest fire, who did not want to give her name.
She said police have failed to protect the neighborhood.
"I feel that we're under attack," she said. "It's some kind of sort of also terrorist attacks going against Bukharan Jews."
In the other fires in the apparent pattern of arson, all were at big homes under construction or renovation.
Almost all the homes set ablaze are within a short walking distance of Wednesday night's fire, Langford reported.