Calhoun fires 'suspicious'

A recent string of fires at Calhoun High School in North Merrick has prompted an arson investigation, officials say.

According to Vincent McManus, division supervisor at the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office, there have been six suspicious fires at the school since Nov. 19, three of which the North Merrick Fire Department responded to.

Nassau County police, the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and the fire marshal's office are jointly investigating the fires, two of which caused Calhoun to be evacuated but did not cause enough damage to force the school to be closed.

"All the fires have been intentionally set in girls' bathrooms in trash cans, at different times of the day during different hours," McManus said.

Calhoun Principal David Seinfeld said there were three instances when school custodians discovered charred paper while cleaning girls' bathrooms, but no fires were reported. "They looked like they were one piece of toilet tissue that self-extinguished," Seinfeld said. "They were never reported to anybody."

On Nov. 19, Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, small fires occurred in first-floor girls' bathrooms, prompting the fire department to respond, Seinfeld said. No one was injured.

Detective Lt. Kevin Power, commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Department's Arson and Bomb Squad, said, "We recognize that there is a pattern there, and we are focusing on that.

"It's a situation that's isolated to the school," Power added. "We are getting great cooperation from the district."

Since the Dec. 3 fire, Calhoun students have been required to sign in before using restrooms, and monitors have been posted outside each one. Bathrooms are also locked during the four-minute interval between class periods.

“Any fire is serious, especially in a school,” McManus said. “There are 100 things that could go wrong and cause injuries or even a death. It's a serious problem that we're very concerned about.”