A 21-year-old Staten Island ShopRite employee was arrested for allegedly starting a raging fire that caused over $100,000 in damages inside the supermarket the day before Thanksgiving, according to authorities.
Dominick Sacchetti was cuffed Wednesday for allegedly setting off the Nov. 26 blaze inside the bustling grocery store on Greaves Lane, where many shoppers were preparing for their Thanksgiving feasts, the FDNY said in a statement.
Sachetti, an employee of the store, was allegedly seen on surveillance cameras igniting the fire on a shelf full of paper goods, according to the FDNY.
Dominick Sacchetti, 21, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly starting a blaze inside a bustling Staten Island ShopRite on Greaves Lane, where he worked. FDNY
Footage provided by authorities captured flames climbing up the aisle and haphazard stacks of paper towels toppled to the ground.
The flames quickly grew and began to spread. A fast-acting customer grabbed a store fire extinguisher and put out most of the inferno, officials added.
No one was injured during the Thanksgiving Eve blaze, but the fire caused over $100,000 in damage, the FDNY said.
No one was injured during the pre-Thanksgiving day blaze, but the fire caused over $100,000 in damage. FDNY
“While residents of Staten Island were beginning to prepare for Thanksgiving with their families, this individual put the lives of shoppers and responding firefighters at risk,” FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said in a statement.
“Thanks to the dedicated work of our Fire Marshals, this dangerous individual who put lives at risk has been apprehended,” Tucker said.
Sachetti was charged with multiple counts of arson, two counts of reckless endangerment, and two counts of criminal mischief, authorities said.
“Alleged to have set fire to a busy ShopRite grocery aisle late last month, Dominick Sacchetti needlessly put countless Staten Islanders who were simply shopping for food for their families, as well as essential ShopRite workers, in harm’s way,” Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said in a statement.
“Acts of arson that endanger the lives of our fellow residents will not be tolerated here on
Staten Island, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
His bail was set at $50,000 cash and $100,000 bond.