On a completely more twelve year old note....(Updated with Newsday article)

Does anyone else HATE being home alone at night? Ever since my neighbor's house exploded a year and a half ago, I hate sleeping in a house alone. So not only am I home on a Friday night, I will be alone all night

it will be light soon maybe 8 hours but it will be over soon

Haha, I'm such a child!

i hate being home Alone

Rachel how & why did your neighbors house explode?

Thats what i wanna know Jen
I hope you find a way to relax

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Smithtown House Explosion Kills One
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By Samuel Bruchey
Staff Writer

January 30, 2002

At 3:45 this morning, a house at 20 Elm Avenue in Smithtown exploded
and caught fire, killing one person.

The body of a man, believed to be the homeowner, Alfred Maus, 54, was
found buried amid the rubble, police said. The explosion completely
leveled the wood-shingled, single story home in the middle of modest
neighborhood of neatly kept houses. Parts of the roof flew off to the left
and landed up against the yard of a home next door, causing minor damage.
The siding of the house on the right melted from the intense heat of
the fire. The neighbor from that home, who asked not to be identified,
said he ran into his garage, pulled out a hose and sprayed water on his
house, trying to prevent the flames from next door from spreading.

The fire next door was already engulfing the house, the neighbor said.

Jane Mutell, 65, a neighbor across the street was sleeping on her
living room couch recovering from recent surgery for her sinuses. She said
the explosion 'woke me up and nearly knocked me off the couch. The whole
house shook.'

Looking out the window, 'I saw the flames,' she said. 'They were low at
first in front of the house, then they went up. Every neighbor went out
trying to find out if he [Maus] was still inside.'

The flames prevented anyone from trying to rescue him. A couple of
neighbors ran up to his driveway but were driven back by the heat of the
fire, Mutell said.

Suffolk homicide detectives found an acetylene tank in the basement,
the type a welder would use and described by experts as volatile.
Investigators are trying to determine whether it set off the explosion.

The home did not have natural gas service, a KeySpan spokeswoman said.

Police, neighbors, friends of Maus described him as very intelligent
but eccentric and reclusive. They said he spent much of his time
collecting castoffs, such as Halloween costumes, from dumpsters which he
brought back to his home. He rigged his own solar energy panels on top of his
garage and made his own false teeth because he didn't believe in going
to the dentist.

Neighbors said they think supported himself by buying and selling
properties. Homicide detectives and the arson squad are still investigating
the cause of the blast. They said they do not suspect foul play.

'It doesn't appear that this is anything other than a terrible
tragedy,' homicide Det. Sgt. Edward Fandrey said.

Copyright (c) 2002, Newsday, Inc.

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This article originally appeared at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liexplode0130a.story

I used to hate being home alone, and frank used to travel alot, so i got a dog, and she isnt that big, maybe 70lbs at the most, but she black and she barks LOUD and that scares most people off.. i can tell if someone is just on the block no matter what time and if you come past my house shes like a freak and omg if you dare come on to the lawn, she is going CRAZY and thats the only thing that would bother me is intruders, so now i dont worry at all..

but to you, i always find watching my fav movie, like the wedding singer or meet the parents, in bed helps me fall asleep faster...

Rachel