QUEENS — A 22-year-old man was arrested after lighting several fires on 39th Avenue Sunday including one that engulfed an SUV belonging to a former city councilman, cops said.
Devon Page set fire to ex-Queens politician Eric Gioia's 2007 Mercury Mariner parked near 49th Street and 39th Avenue about 5 a.m., according to the NYPD.
He then went on to light several other trash fires nearby, police said. Page is expected to be charged with five counts of arson, police said.
Page did not appear to be targeting Gioia, an NYPD spokesman said Tuesday.
Gioia, who represented Queens' 26th District until 2009, awoke Sunday to a "big thump" and spotted the massive fire outside his son's bedroom window, he said.
"It was like a bright orange fireball outside his window," Gioia said.
The flames leapt to a nearby tree, but did not spread to Gioia's home, he saId.
No injuries were reported in the incident.