ENDWELL ARSON FIRES

1982 ARSON FIRES

In 1982 an arsonist terrorized an Endwell neighborhood for nearly 2 months. An area between Watson Blvd. and Country Club Road, west of Beckwith Avenue was the scene of 14 arson fires in October and November 1982.

It began in the early morning hours of October 24th, 1982, when five fires were deliberately set. One fire on Lee Ave. caused damage to the house. Over the next month 13 more fires occurred in this general area. The worst fire of the arson spree came on November 24th, when a Crestwood Court home was destroyed by fire. This fire was started in the garage and quickly spread through the house. Fortunately no one was injured in this or any of the fires. Juveniles were reported being seen in the area at the time of some of the fires.

State Police and Broome County Sheriff's investigators worked along with investigators from the Broome County Office of Fire Investigation. Sifting through evidence and interviewing dozens of youths, they were finally able to crack the case. On December 3rd, 1982, a 16 year old Endwell youth who lived in the area of the fires was arrested. The youth eventually plead guilty to the charges.

1988 ARSON FIRES

In 1988 Endwell was again struck by an arsonist. This time the southside was the target with a string of fires set along East Main Street.

On April 7th, the first of these seven arson fires started with a dumpster fire on Davis Street. After some other dumpster fires a garage on East Main Street was badly damaged. But these fires were minor compared to the Christ the King Church fire on May 13th, 1988 which severely damaged the church. On June 5th, the Suds n' Duds laundromat located on East Main Street was destroyed by fire. Investigators believe that all the fires were related but no arrests were ever made.