Police arrested a 36-year-old Garden City man last week after he allegedly set leaves and other combustibles on fire and threw the pile into an open basement window of a home on Lefferts Road where three occupants were sleeping inside.

According to Det. Raymond Kurz of the Nassau County Arson Bomb Squad, on Sunday, June 23 at approximately 12:30 a.m. the subject allegedly used a match to light the pile and then pushed the burning debris into the Lefferts Road home, causing bedding and a mattress in the basement area to set fire.

The Garden City Fire Department responded with 45 members, three engines, one aerial truck and nine other fire vehicles and found on arrival the three occupants outside of the house. Firefighters then extinguished the fire. The three occupants escaped unharmed but the house was severely damaged, according to police reports.

The Garden City Police Department also responded to the incident. According to Lt. Kenneth Jackson, Garden City detectives report the subject did admit he started the fire and is an acquaintance of one of the occupants. Police charged the subject with second-degree arson; he was arraigned in District Court June 23. The case is still under investigation, Lt. Jackson said.