A Jewish family in Suffern, a town in Rockland County, New York, near the heavily Orthodox community of Monsey, was forced to flee their home early Monday morning after an unknown individual deliberately set fire to a trash bin outside their residence. The incident, captured on security cameras, nearly resulted in tragedy as flames spread to a parked car and threatened the house itself.
According to Monsey Scoop, security footage shows a figure approaching the property at 4:07 a.m. Monday, using a torch to ignite the outdoor trash bin, then quickly fleeing the scene.
The burning trash bin continued to smolder for hours until it melted completely, with flames spreading to a nearby parked vehicle. By approximately 5:00 a.m., the car was fully engulfed in flames, posing an immediate danger to the house and the family members sleeping inside.
Neighbors who spotted the fire alerted emergency services. Firefighters from the Suffern Fire Department, local police officers, and forensic investigators from the Rockland County Sheriff's Office rushed to the scene. At 5:10 a.m., police knocked on the family's door and ordered an immediate evacuation. Family members, including young children, were safely removed from the building as firefighters battled the intense flames just feet from the home's walls.
Miraculously, firefighters managed to contain the blaze and extinguish it before it could penetrate the residential structure, averting a major disaster. A second vehicle parked nearby sustained minor damage but did not catch fire, and no physical injuries were reported. Suffern Mayor Michael Curley arrived at the scene and assured the family and residents that authorities were treating the incident with utmost seriousness and would prosecute the arsonist to the fullest extent of the law.
Local police launched an intensive investigation into the arson, working alongside the Sheriff's investigative units and volunteers from Rockland County's Chaverim organization to identify the suspect captured on camera. Because the incident occurred outside a Jewish family's home, community members initially feared it might be a hate crime motivated by antisemitism, but authorities refrained from initially classifying it as such while examining all possibilities.
In an updated statement, Mayor Curley clarified that at this stage of the investigation, there are no findings indicating the arson was committed on antisemitic grounds. According to him, police investigators are closely tracking the suspect's movements in the hours preceding the incident, and the prevailing assessment among investigators is that the arsonist was acting under the influence of intoxicants or alcohol. The mayor added that given the significant progress made in the investigation within a short time, he is confident that detectives will apprehend the suspect in the coming days.
