Suffolk County homicide detectives and the arson section are investigating a fire that killed a squatter in a vacant Central Islip home early Thursday morning, police said.
The fire at 23 Sycamore Street was first reported to police at 5:05 a.m. by a passing motorist. When the Central Islip Fire Department and police arrived they were unable to enter the house because of the intensity of the fire and smoke, police said.
It wasn’t until after the blaze was extinguished that first responders discovered the body of a man in the basement, police said.
The man’s identity is being withheld pending identification by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office.
Police said there was no electricity in the home at the time of the fire.
The investigation is continuing, police said. Anyone with information regarding the blaze is asked to contact the homicide squad at 631-852-6392.
