Investigators believe a blaze at a Broome County Weis Markets store was set by an apparently disgruntled worker.

Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
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Authorities say 22-year-old Zachary Constable of Johnson City faces two felony counts in connection with the February 16 fire. It happened around 3 p.m. at the Weis Markets store on Day Hollow Road in West Corners.

Constable was taken into custody Tuesday by Johnson City police. He has been charged with second-degree arson and second-degree criminal mischief.

Customers and employees left the store when the fire occurred in a coat room. The blaze was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system.

The fire cause an estimated $10,000 in damage and lost income to the store, which was closed for several hours.

Investigators interviewed most of the Weis employees who were working at the time of the incident. They concluded Constable was a likely suspect shortly after the fire.

Authorities believe a lighter was used to ignite materials in the coat room. They say there was nothing else in that area of the store that could have caused a fire.

Constable was working the the seafood department on the day of the fire. He has since been fired.

Constable is a former volunteer firefighter in Albany County. He was arraigned in Union town court and sent to Broome County Jail.

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