NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–Police say that a fire on Comstock Street in the Second Ward may have been intentionally set on the night of October 28.

The incident occurred at 50 Comstock Street, located between Jones and Commercial Avenues, at approximately 9:10pm.

The home in question is owned by Hedy Tehrani, a Monroe resident who purchased it in 1996 for $99, according to property records.  The home is assessed at $52,200 and the land it is on at $22,500, according to tax records.

A statement released in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request says a “preliminary investigation suggests the fire was intentionally set.”

No one was injured and the incident did not generate a Rutgers University crime alert, or cause the New Brunswick Police Department (NBPD) to issue a press release.

However, the online news website TapInto New Brunswick reported on the blaze the following day, writing that the New Brunswick Fire Department (NBFD) extinguished it before it got inside the structure.

Those facts were confirmed by NBPD Captain JT Miller, who said, “A fire was located on the outside of the building and extinguished before it was able to penetrate to the inside of the structure.”

No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred less than two blocks from the Cook/Douglass campus fo Rutgers, according to police.

Miller confirmed that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into the fire, and that the NBPD asks anyone with information “to please contact Detective Harry Lemmerling at (732) 745-5217.” 

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.