Homeowner arrested in Long Island garage explosion

A Long Island man has been arrested in connection with the garage inferno that set off fireworks in Nassau County a day ago, spewing thick black smoke into the air and terrifying neighbors, authorities said Wednesday.

Louis Distefano, 57, was charged Tuesday with unlawful storage of explosives and unlawful possession of explosives without licenses and certificates in the blast that damaged his and others’ homes in Franklin Square.

Investigators say officers responded to Distefano’s Morton Avenue home for a report of a fire and saw the entire garage engulfed in flames. The fire then spread to a fence next door and another garage. It ignited fireworks that had been in Distefano’s garage. They went off, igniting another nearby garage and fence in the process, police say.

The fireworks also landed on a couch in Distefano’s living room, starting a fire inside, police say.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the initial fire remains under investigation.

Distefano is expected to be arraigned Wednesday. Information on an attorney for him wasn’t immediately available.