Police: Suspicious fire damages playground equipment at Lake Grove school

Police said they are investigating a suspicious fire that damaged playground equipment at an elementary school in Lake Grove Sunday night.

The fire, reported at 8:34 p.m., damaged an activity set at the Eugene Auer Memorial Elementary School, Suffolk County police said.

Middle Country Central School District Superintendent Roberta Gerold said in a statement Tuesday: "No students were on or near the playground at the time of the fire," adding that police and firefighters responded -- and that the district is cooperating with an investigation being conducted by Arson Section detectives.

It was not immediately clear if surveillance equipment captured any evidence. The value of the equipment also was not immediately known.

The district said that officials have contacted the insurance carrier and the playground manufacturer to determine the full extent of the damage and move toward replacing the equipment.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@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.”