Police say Albion fire may be suspicious

Photo by Tom Rivers – A section of Main Street in Albion has been blocked off for about six hours today while police and fire investigators were on scene at Nayman’s, a small engine repair garage at 205 North Main St. The street was expected to be reopened after 10 p.m.

ALBION – A fatal fire remains under investigation and the person who died in the fire is not being identified because police are not 100 percent sure who it is, Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni said tonight.

There will be an autopsy Saturday morning by the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office. The autopsy as well as the fire scene investigation should provide more answers about the cause of the fire and death, as well as the deceased’s identity, Nenni said.

Albion firefighters were quickly on the scene after the dispatch call went out at 3:51 p.m. when there were reports of smoke coming from Nayman’s, Nenni said. Firefighters were already out for another call in the community.

They quickly put out the fire at Nayman’s and discovered a burned body inside. Police and fire investigators originally ruled the fire and death suspicious, and that hasn’t been ruled out, Nenni said.

“We’re still deeming it suspicious,” he said at about 10 p.m. today. “Right now it’s an unknown.”

Albion police officers and firefighters were joined in the investigation by Orleans County fire investigators, New York State Police crime and identification technicians, and investigators from the state Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

“We will know more tomorrow,” Nenni said. “We’re still deeming it a suspicious incident.”