A vacant house on Old Town Road near the corner of Elm Street was the scene of two small fires Saturday morning, both of which were extinguished quickly, according to fire officials.
They said a passerby reported the first blaze at 333 Old Town Road shortly before 4 a.m. and crews from the Port Jefferson, Selden and Setauket fire departments responded.
Stacey Fowler, who lives across the street from the house, watched firefighters put it out after a neighbor called her in the middle of the night to tell her about it.
"The front door was open," Fowler said. "There were flames at the front door and going up the stairwell."
The blaze rekindled itself around 9:19 a.m. and caused enough interior damage that the ceiling needed to be taken down, fire officials said.
Mary Capek, the owner of the home who currently resides in Coram, said she had not been inside and did not know the extent of the damage, but said she was told it was under investigation for arson.
"It is what it is," she said. "That's why you have insurance and a fire department."
The home is currently for sale, but Capek declined to say how long the house had been on the market or how long it had been vacant.
