Daswell Anderson started fire in Uniondale home after ‘dispute,’ cops say

Bail was set at $100,000 for a Westbury man charged with arson, accused of setting a fire in the basement of a home where he lived, authorities said.

The incident took place Sunday night after a dispute with a family who rented the first floor, police said.

Daswell Anderson, 69, of Warren Street, was charged with second-degree arson and first-degree reckless endangerment. Police said the tenants heard “banging on the pipes” Sunday night and smelled gas. They left the property and called police.

No one was injured.

The Uniondale Fire Department responded, extinguished a small fire in the basement and shut off the gas.

Anderson was located in the basement, taken to a hospital and then placed in custody.

He will appear in court again Dec. 30.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com,jo.napolitano@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”