By Sarina Trangle
Police detained a 23-year-old man leaving the Burlington Coat Factory Monday afternoon and were investigating whether he was behind several small fires set in the Rego Center and Queens Center malls over the past few days, the NYPD said.
The Police Department said firefighters were first called to Rego Center, at 95-06 Queens Blvd. Friday, where clothing had been set ablaze in Sears.
The FDNY returned to the mall Sunday to put out flames in TJ Max and Staples, where police said merchandise had been ignited.
Some 35 firefighters responded to a small fire in the Macy’s inside Queens Center, at 90-01 Queens Blvd., just after 3 p.m. Monday. The FDNY said the flames were extinguished within 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, another 60 firefighters were dispatched to Rego Center, where the NYPD said a blaze had been lit in Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond, Old Navy and the Burlington Coat Factory. The FDNY said the fires were extinguished within 40 minutes.
Nobody was injured during the fires, according to the NYPD.
Fire and police officials described all the fires as small and relatively contained.
Police said they studied an image of the 23-year-old captured on surveillance tape at Staples, recognized the same individual leaving Burlington Coat Factory Monday and stopped him.
As of Monday evening, the man was being questioned at the 112th Precinct.
Jim Long, the FDNY’s director of public information, said the fires at Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory and Bed Bath and Beyond Monday consisted of mostly smoke and smoldering material.
He said, however, that the flames in the lower level of Sears activated the sprinkler system and required the use of a fire extinguisher.
“It’s more just a lot of water, some smoke. That’s all going to take its toll on the merchandise,” Long said, noting that the sprinklers watered a roughly 10-by-12 foot area, but the liquid then flowed elsewhere in the store.
The mall was not evacuated, however, most shoppers chose to leave when fire alarms went off or were directed to exit stores, Long said.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
