A homeless man burned to death behind a Long Island food market while trying to find shelter from the cold.
Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith says it appeared the man tried to light some cooking-fuel cans at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, while simultaneously washing himself with body wash liquid containing alcohol.
Authorities believe the cooking cans ignited the body wash, causing the man to suffer fatal burns.
The man was found behind a kosher food market in North Lawrence by municipal workers who were salting the roads.
On Monday Department of Homeless Services officials fanned out across the city to count how many people were living on the streets, an urgently necessary survey that could help those who need aid get it fast. While the commissioner of the DHS said that no one has died in the streets due the winter cold, this would seem an indirect casualty of recent dangerous weather.
The man's identity was not yet known.