COLONIE — Town police are investigating a suspicious fire that destroyed a marked cruiser parked outside the home of an off-duty traffic safety officer early today.

Lt. John Van Alstyne said the officer, who he declined to name, was awakened about 2:30 a.m. when he heard noise coming from outside his home in the Boght Corners area of the town. He said the officer then noticed his 2005 Ford Crown Victoria was on fire.

Van Alstyne said the officer managed to salvage some belongings from the burning cruiser, but couldn’t extinguish the spreading flames. He said the patrolman wasn’t injured, but the vehicle was a total loss.

“Obviously, we’re investigating it as a crime,” he said Monday.

Fire investigators are trying to determine if the blaze was set deliberately. Van Alstyne said most of the vehicle’s equipment was consumed in the fire and he was uncertain whether any evidence in ojngoing cases was destroyed.

“It’s totaled,” he said of the car. “It was quite the fire.