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Smithtown FD-House explosion kills one on Elm Avenue

January 30, 2002 Incident reported at 0344 hours. This was an explosion that occurred within the house at number 20 Elm Ave, killing the lone occupant/owner, an adult male named Alfred Maos, 54. House was destroyed, victim was found within the debris of the basement. Neighboring houses were also damaged from flying debris and parts of the house. Smithtown, Hauppauge and Kings Park FD’s operated. Earlier in the evening, the victims car was found burning on Elm Avenue near the fire house. Smithtown News 2-14-2002

From The NY Times:

A house in the Long Island community of Smithtown exploded early yesterday, killing a man the authorities believe had lived there.

The police said they suspect that the explosion, which occurred at 3:45 a.m. at 20 Elm Avenue, was set off by a gas other than natural gas. A body recovered from the rubble where the house once stood is thought to be that of Alfred Maus, who lived there alone, the police said.

Mr. Maus, 54, a lifelong resident of Smithtown, was known as an eccentric inventor who had made his own false teeth. A cousin, David Nutt, 37, said Mr. Maus had dabbled in the stock market as well as collecting knickknacks from trash cans and Dumpsters, which he would transform into useful creations. He had built a water heater from discarded objects, Mr. Nutt said.

Mr. Maus, who grew up in the house that exploded, had lived nearby for several years but returned to the single-story, wood-shingled home of his childhood about 15 years ago, Mr. Nutt said.

The police said they were investigating whether the blast could have been set off by an acetylene tank found in the basement. Acetylene is a highly flammable gas used in combination with oxygen in welding, and Mr. Maus’s creations sometimes incorporated welding. The house did not have natural gas service, a KeySpan spokeswoman said. Yesterday, a mound of black rubble sat where Mr. Maus’s house once stood, and debris from the explosion was strewn about the avenue and in nearby yards.

A neighbor, Jane R. Mutell, 65, said she was jolted awake by the blast. ”The explosion knocked me halfway off the couch, that’s how bad it was,” she said. ”My whole house shook, and all the neighbors’ houses shook.”

Ms. Mutell described Mr. Maus, whom she had known since he was a child, as a brilliant, reclusive man with a long white beard. He would feed pieces of bagel to the birds that flocked to the collection of birdhouses he had constructed in his backyard, Ms. Mutell said, and he shunned visits to the doctor, preferring to treat himself.

The police do not suspect foul play, said Detective Sgt. Edward Fandrey of the Suffolk County Homicide Squad. ”It seems to be a tragedy at this point,” he said. ”But we’re keeping all our options open until we know more.”

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