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This was the house at Hopper Ave. (COURTESY GOOGLEMAPS)
Michael Entress, who is being held on $500,000 bail, was a “person of interest” from the moment the homeowner told investigators he threatened to burn down the house earlier that night.
Entress is officially charged with aggravated arson, arson, and causing widespread damage in connection with the June 18 blaze, which caused floors and beams at 31 Hopper Avenue to collapse before firefighters could get it under control.
“The first responders arrived to find the rear of the exterior of the house fully engulfed in flames and the fire extending, from back to front, throughout the house,” Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. “The fire intensified and caused various structural collapses.”
No one was home when emergency crews arrived at the residence behind the nearby Village School and just up the road from Waldwick High School. However, the 911 caller who summoned them reported sea witness reported seeing Entress in the area, Molinelli said.
Entress poured gasoline in “multiple areas inside and outside the house,” he said.
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