A Jewish family was forced to flee their Suffern home early Monday morning after an arsonist was caught on surveillance video deliberately torching a garbage can outside the residence, sparking a fire that later spread to a parked vehicle and came dangerously close to the house.

Surveillance footage from the Woodland Drive property shows an individual approaching at approximately 4:07 a.m. and using what appeared to be a torch to ignite the garbage can before walking away.

The garbage can continued burning and eventually melted, with the flames later spreading to a vehicle parked alongside it. By shortly after 5:00 a.m., the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames outside the family’s home.

Neighbors spotted the fire and called emergency services. The Suffern Fire Department and Suffern Police rushed to the scene, along with the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

At approximately 5:10 a.m., police knocked on the family’s door and ordered them to evacuate. The family, including children, was safely removed from the home as firefighters battled the flames just outside.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze before it could spread to the house, averting what could have been a devastating tragedy. Another vehicle parked nearby was also spared, and no injuries were reported.

Suffern Mayor Michael Curley responded following the incident and assured the family that authorities were taking the matter seriously.

“The fire was extinguished before it affected the house,” Curley said in a statement early Monday. “Our Police and Fire Department did an outstanding job and a follow-up investigation will be performed to figure out the cause.”

Suffern Police are heavily investigating the arson with assistance from the Rockland County Sheriff’s BCI Unit, and Chaverim of Rockland and are working to identify the individual captured on surveillance footage and determine a motive.

The fact that the deliberately set fire targeted property outside a Jewish family’s home is among the circumstances surrounding the investigation. Authorities have not publicly announced a motive or classified the incident as a hate crime.

The investigation remains ongoing. Monsey Scoop will publish an update as additional information becomes available.

UPDATE 10:45AM TUESDAY 8/11: Suffern Mayor Michael Curley tells Monsey Scoop that, at this point in the investigation into Monday morning’s arson on Woodland Drive, where a garbage can was deliberately set on fire outside a Jewish family’s home before the flames spread to a parked vehicle, authorities do not believe the incident was antisemitic in nature. Curley said Suffern Police are actively tracking the suspect’s whereabouts and movements prior to the incident, and investigators believe the suspect may have been under the influence at the time. The mayor added that based on the significant progress made in a short period of time, he is confident Suffern Police will identify and arrest the person responsible. Monsey Scoop will publish additional details as more information becomes available.