Metro

Explosion that set off fatal house fire may have been deliberate: officials

A bomb-like explosion that torched a Long Island home and killed one person Tuesday night may have been intentionally ignited, fire officials said.

The two-story Prospect Avenue home burst into flames around 8:15 p.m., just after a 39-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter fled the home because of a strong gasoline odor, police said.

Five emergency workers were injured, 1010 Wins reported.

Officials say the five-alarm fire in Port Washington might not have been an accident.Twitter/@MaxNasti

Authorities arrived at the scene following a call from within the home reporting a domestic dispute. When authorities arrived, they quickly evacuated the home’s inhabitants “due to the strong odor of gasoline emanating from the area,” according to a police report.

The detached garage exploded seconds after Angela MacNeill and her daughter were led to safety, according to 1010 Wins.

A body was found in the debris, and Mike MacNeill, the home’s owner, was still “unaccounted for” as of Wednesday afternoon. Nassau County’s arson and bomb squad are investigating whether the deadly blaze was deliberate.

“It looks like there were flammable liquids involved,” Brian Waterson, assistant chief of the Port Washington Fire Department, told The Post.

More than 100 firefighters from 17 different departments responded to the blaze, which shut down the block until the fire was contained around 10:30 p.m., fire officials said.

The explosion was felt by homeowners and businesses more than a mile away.

A hostess at Louie’s Oyster Bar and Grille said customers went dashing out of the restaurant.

“We just felt the explosion and then we saw the fire,” Silvie Navarro told Newsday. “People ran outside. I thought it was a bomb. People were saying, ‘Let’s go, let’s go!’”