fireplainfield

FIREFIGHTERS THE MOST NOBLE OF ALL SERVICE WORKERS, PERHAPS
What role did the heat and humidity play? How about electrical fire possibility? Beautiful 3rd floor fenestration lost. INDUSTRIAL FIRE: Is regional response to economic development next?

Demolition of Remington site ordered
Keila Torres, CT POST
Published: 11:32 p.m., Thursday, September 9, 2010

BRIDGEPORT -- The stubborn fire that struck the former Remington factory on Barnum Avenue has finally been extinguished, but not before snuffing out the life of the abandoned factory.

Due to the intensity and duration of the 24th fire at the site since January 2003, the city's Condemnation Board on Tuesday voted to condemn the property and ordered the owner, RemGrit Realty Inc., to begin demolition within 48 hours.

"The entire campus is a menace to public safety," said Fire Chief Brian Rooney, a member of the board. "Our best recourse is to get the buildings torn down."

If Remgrit principal Sal DiNardo, who was represented at the meeting by his attorney Charles Willinger, does not begin demolition within the time allotted by the board, the city would take over the action.

"The city bonded for $2.5 million in demolition" in the capital plan approved this spring, said Chief of Staff Adam Wood. "We would like to be able to use those funds throughout the city and not just on RemGrit, but this really is a public safety issue."

The city hopes to take down every building on the site, except for the shot tower that still contains live utilities and the environmentally hazardous blacksmith shop.

Because the city's foreclosure action against the property was stalled by DiNardo's bankruptcy filing, the city would have to appeal to the federal bankruptcy court to recoup the demolition cost.

The city is also trying to estimate how much money could be recouped by selling steel, copper and other metals on the site, Wood said.

The city's legal staff is now looking into whether to put the demolition out to a formal, yet expedited, bidding process or continue using the services of Connecticut Tank Removal, the on-site contractor hired by the state Department of Environmental Protection to raze the building that housed the stubborn blaze for more than a week.

"The RemGrit site has been a blight on the city for too long," said Mayor Bill Finch. "I am focusing every available city resource to demolish these buildings to safeguard our residents and our firefighters from any further hazards from that site."

Last week, the city's police, fire, health, economic development, building and anti-blight officials toured the site with officials from the state DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Donald Eversley, director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development, the group determined that the structural damage at the site, the threat of another fire, the hazardous waste and evidence of criminal activity on site posed "imminent and continuing" safety hazards to the public.

After another Remington fire, what's next?
CT POST
Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer
Published: 08:22 p.m., Saturday, August 28, 2010

BRIDGEPORT -- Fire roared through four floors of two vacant buildings at the former Remington Arms plant Saturday morning, creating fear that sections of the damaged structure could collapse endangering firefighters battling the stubborn blaze and spectators creeping closer to watch. At one point, police pushed back nearly three dozen spectators stationed at the intersection of Maple and Helen streets.

Wooden horses blocked off several streets surrounding what is now known as the RemGrit plant as firefighters from every city department battled the blaze for nearly two hours before bringing in under control. By late afternoon, a wrecking ball began demolishing the northernmost building near Helen Street upon the recommendation of the state Department of Environmental Protection. But first police canvassed the area giving nearby residents three options: remain inside with windows and doors closed and any outside ventilation systems turned off, seek shelter elsewhere or move to an emergency shelter set up at Waltersville/Barnum school.

"The concern was contaminants like asbestos might be released into the air," said Scott Appleby, the city's director of emergency management and homeland security.

He said residents cooperated, no one sought shelter in the school and the fire department sprayed a continual stream of water on the emerging dustball. Still, the intensity of this latest fire, combined with the weakened structure of previous fires throughout the complex, brought calls from city and community leaders for demolition before someone is seriously hurt. Lingering fresh in everyone's minds are last month's deaths of Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michel Baik while battling a house fire on Elmwood Avenue.

"That complex needs to come down," said Ted Meekins, a retired Bridgeport police sergeant and chairman of the East End Community Council. "The city is putting its firefighters at risk every time they are called there. What are we waiting for?"

Councilman Robert P. Curwen Sr. who followed the smoke to Saturday's blaze, said he approached a battalion chief and told him "whatever you do, do not take any chances."

While the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, Curwen suspects it was caused by vandals using an acetylene torch to rip off copper flashing on the roof.

"It's happened before," Curwen said. "Copper fetches a good price today."

Curwen said the two buildings which burned Saturday housed manufacturing companies until about eight years ago. He said one of the buildings still had machinery with oil pans underneath while the second was full of sawdust and chips from a woodworking business.

"It created the perfect environment," he said.

Responding to the calls Saturday afternoon, Mayor Bill Finch vowed his administration "will employ all legal means to seize immediate control of this site to eliminate all avoidable health and safety risks."

"Since I took office in 2007, we have been aggressively pursing the owner of this building to pay his back taxes and to get the building torn down," Finch said. "The building is a public hazard in its current condition. Vandals are setting fires, endangering public safety, nearby homes and businesses and most importantly, the lives of our firefighters."

The site is owned by RemGrit, who, in turn owes the city at least $8.6 million in taxes. Sal DiNardo is the majority shareholder of that corporation.

"A lot of the debt was incurred before DiNardo became majority shareholder," Curwen said.

Curwen, who co-chairs the council's Economic and Development committee and is experienced in demolition contracts, believes it will cost at least $11 million to tear down the complex and remove the debris. Then comes the cost of studying and removing the contamination in the ground underneath.

"The city does not have that kind of money to pay for this," said Curwen. "We can't expect to put any more burden on our taxpayers."

Nor does Curwen believe there are any state or federal funds available in that amount. On Saturday, Lydia Martinez, who with Manuel Ayala, serve as councilman in that district, said she intends to tour the area.

"From what I understand it is extremely dangerous now," she said. "I'm concerned not only for the firefighters, but the people who live in that area."

The oily black smoke filled the sky above western wing of the plant, south of the complex's historic shot tower. Spectators said they saw the smoke as far north as Milford and as far south as the Saugatuck bridge in Westport. Edwin Diaz was one of those. He saw the smoke while driving over the Saugatuck River bridge in Westport. Diaz, who lives on Goodard Avenue, was returning home from his job at City Carting in Stamford. He and Matthew Cuccaro, who biked from Black Rock, watched firefighters atop ladders four stories high pour thousands of gallons of water onto the blaze.

"This building is fully involved," said Diaz watching hot, orange flames spewing from broken windows and licking the exterior brickwork.

Fairfield, Milford and Stratford firefighters covered the city's calls as its firefighters battled the stubborn blaze.

"It's a damn shame," voiced John Soltis, of Ellsworth Avenue, whose first job was out of high school was working on ammunition shells at Remington. "The city has to decide whether they are going to do something with this or knock it down."

As of late Saturday there were no reports of injuries, but Fire Chief Brian Rooney could not be reached for comment. EMS and the Red Cross were on the scene. The factory, a series of 13 interconnected brick buildings on 76 acres with old style timber construction, has been closed for decades. The plant has no electric or gas supply. It opened in 1867 as the Union Metallic Cartridge Company producing ammunition and later guns for the Russian czarist army.

As time went on the factory churned out bayonets, Colt pistols, Browning machine guns, automatic rifles and bullets for every war through Vietnam.

But residents like Corey Reed of Orchard Street remember it today for the number of heavy fires set inside in recent years. There was one on Feb. 13, another on January 28 and a third in 2005 which heavily damaged the Barnum Avenue section.

House in fire lacked permits for apartment conversion
Keila Torres, CT POST Staff Writer
Published: 11:24 p.m., Monday, July 26, 2010

BRIDGEPORT -- The third-floor apartment where two firefighters lost their lives battling a blaze Saturday was not a certified living space and had likely not been inspected by fire officials in many years.

Records at both the city's Building Department and Tax Assessor's Office show the three-story structure at 39-41 Elmwood Ave. was built as a two-family house in 1909.

Because no permits were ever issued to convert it to a three-family house, it is unlikely fire officials ever inspected the third-floor to ensure the space contained the proper fire exits. The last inspection of the attic space conducted by the assessor's office was in 1991.

Neighbors said the house's owner, listed in city records as Joan Burnett-McFarlane, lived in the third-floor apartment. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

Jose Fuentes, who lived four houses away on Elmwood Avenue, said the property had been unoccupied earlier this year while minor renovations were completed on the building.

"Four months ago they renewed the house," he said. No building permit have ever been issued for the property, though, and no site plans had ever been filed for the structure.

Another neighbor, who lives across the street from the burnt structure, said the renovations seemed to be limited to interior work, painting and the replacement of windows.

None of the residents interviewed for this story knew the owner of the structure other than having seen McFarlane entering or exiting her property. All had lived in the West Side neighborhood for less than two years.

The tenants of the second-floor apartment where the fire reportedly ignited had just finished moving their belongings into the space on Saturday morning, Fuentes said. The first-floor tenants had moved into the space just several months ago with their young children.

One man, who declined to give his name, said when the fire started flames could only be seen shooting out of a second-story window.

"All of a sudden the blaze took off and the two firemen on the roof, who weren't wearing masks or tanks, couldn't be seen anymore because of the dark smoke," he said. "At first, the water was useless."

Fuentes wondered whether the distance of the nearest fire hydrant, about a block and a half away, could have shaved precious minutes off the firefighter's efforts to quell the flames.

"If you see both sides of the street ... do you see any fire hydrants?" he asked. "In New York City, in each block they have at least two (hydrants)."

While Elmwood Avenue has no fire hydrants, at least four are positioned close to Elmwood Avenue, Elaine Ficarra, Mayor Bill Finch's spokesperson, said Monday night.

"They are within the legal (distance) limits required by law," she said. One of the hydrants, she pointed out, is at the intersection of Wood and Elmwood avenues, a short distance from the scene of the fire.

Sunday mornings sad, sad news...
Neighborhood in shock as news spreads of firefighter deaths
CT POST
John Burgeson, Staff Writer
Published: 11:48 p.m., Saturday, July 24, 2010

BRIDGEPORT -- On what was perhaps the most stifling night of what has been one of the most torrid summers in memory, neighbors congregated on their stoops, streets and sidewalks Saturday evening to discuss what has been the deadliest day for the Bridgeport Fire Department in anyone's memory.

"How do you tell a fireman's family that he would not be coming home?" asked Mark Anthony Wilson, who was in the neighborhood visiting friends. "How do you explain that, especially in the line of duty?"

As with many in the West End neighborhood, he was shaking his head in disbelief. "Every day it's a sad story. A long hot summer," he said.

Like Wilson, many said the deaths only seemed to cap off what has been one of the most blood-stained summers in recent memory, with five murders recorded in the city only in the last two weeks.

Wilson was one of a number of people who gathered around the Wood Park Gazebo to try to make sense of the sad day.

"It just touched my heart," said Arlene Mercer, who lives on the other side of town. "I was, like, `You gotta be kidding me.' When you hear of the heroes of the city, the firemen, losing their lives in the line of duty, it's really tragic. With all the homicides and everything, the 17-year-old (killed) just a couple days ago, it's just too much."

Many of those in the working-class neighborhood spilled out into the blocked-off streets to discuss the sad events of the afternoon.

"It was pretty fast moving fire," said Scott Favale, who owns BevMax Liquors just a block away from the fire. "I could smell the smoke; I came out and there was a lot of commotion."

As day turned into a night that offered no relief from the heat, some of the Elmwood Avenue residents said they feared it would be awhile before they would be allowed back in their homes. Police had cordoned off the street, which is only three blocks long, and runs between Wood and Clinton Avenues.

But by about 8:30 p.m., police were letting residents under the yellow "Do Not Cross" tape on the Clinton Avenue end of the street.

Calvin Whittaker, who lives on Wood Avenue, said that he witnessed the conflagration as he was coming home from a church revival service.

"These are the last days," he said. "I'm 49, and I've seen life go from good to bad."

Yasmeed Khan said that she closed down her nightclub, the Club Azur, for the night. "It's just the right thing to do," she said. "I understand what's going on."

The club on Wood Avenue is only a stone's throw from the blaze.

"It was a crazy scene, at least seven or eight fire trucks," said Chevy Exancus, who said that the landlord, who lived in the third-floor apartment, was a "nice Jamaican lady." He said he was relieved, at least, that all of the residents got out safely

Jerthe Jean, who lives on Washington Avenue, said the young family living on the second floor had moved there only on Friday. "They had two little kids," she said.

A man who did not want to give his name, who owns the house to the rear of the one that had the fire, confirmed the second-floor family had "moved in only yesterday" and that "they lost everything."

Diane Auger, executive director of the Eastern Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross, said there were three families in the house that burned, and also that the landlady was distraught over the deaths.

"We're providing counseling for her, the firefighters, and the firefighters' families," she said. "It's a real community disaster."

"I'm really sorry for their loss," said Rebar Easa of the two firefighters. Easa said that had moved here from Kazakhstan just four years ago.

The West Side Fire Station is across the street from Easa's bodega, and he feared that they two firefighters who perished were from that station. However, it was learned that both of the victims were from the so-called "Seven-Eleven" fire station on Ocean Terrace near the P.T. Barnum Apartments public housing complex. Both served on Ladder 11.

The neighborhood has a mix of nationalities. Many of the residents are black, but there are Jamaicans, West Indians, Vietnamese, Puerto Ricans, Eastern Europeans and Mexicans living there, too. It's not a particularly close-knit community, and many of those interviewed for this story said that they moved here within the last two or three years.

Two Bridgeport Firefighters Die Battling Blaze, 3 Others Injured
Hartford Courant
By JENNA CARLESSO and ROCCO PAOLINO
9:28 AM EDT, July 25, 2010

BRIDGEPORT —

Two firefighters died Saturday afternoon while battling a house fire on Elmwood Avenue.

Lt. Steven Velazquez and firefighter Michel Baik were found lying on the third floor of a three-story home at 41 Elmwood Ave. They were both transported to local hospitals — one to Bridgeport Hospital and another to St. Vincent's Medical Center — where they were pronounced dead.

The cause was possibly smoke inhalation, said Bridgeport Fire Capt. Ed McCann. The men were not burned.

"They might have run out of air up there. We're not sure yet," McCann said.

Both men lived in Bridgeport, said Elaine Ficarra, a spokeswoman for Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. Baik, 49, had been with the department for two years, she said. Velazquez was promoted to lieutenant in February.

"Bridgeport is mourning the loss of two of its bravest," Finch said in a statement Saturday. "I urge you all to pray for the firefighters and their families during this most trying time."

Governor Rell ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff until funerals are held for the firefighters. Memorial services have not yet been scheduled for the men.

Three other firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries, McCann said. All of them were treated and released from local hospitals, he said. Investigators were on the scene into the evening. Firefighters received a call about the fire shortly before 4 p.m., McCann said. Firefighters from Bridgeport's Engine 3 were first on the scene and were later joined by Engines 1, 4 and 7, Ladders 5 and 11, Rescue 5 and the battalion chief.

The fire appears to have started on the second floor, McCann said. Three families were displaced. None of the residents were injured.

Members of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross were on hand to provide support. A mental health professional was brought in to speak with families and emergency responders.

"This is a tragedy," said Mario Bruno, chief operating officer of the Red Cross' Connecticut chapter. "We view firefighters and other first responders as true heroes who put their lives on the line. This is a great loss for the community and our thoughts are with the firefighters' families and all who are affected by this terrible fire."

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal's office.

Plainfield — One month after a huge fire lighted up the former bell tower at the InterRoyal mill like a birthday candle, the signature smoke stack to its left has been demolished.

On Friday, officials from the federal Environmental Protection Agency completed the emergency remediation and demolition of the northern one-third of the former industrial building that was destroyed by the April 26 fire.

EPA On-Scene Coordinator Frank Gardner said environmental officials finished collecting samples from the abandoned mill site — including wood, brick, ash and a small amount of water used to fight the fire that had collected in the mill's foundation — on Wednesday and delivered them to an EPA lab Thursday morning for testing.

He said the materials appear to have asbestos in them but that conclusive results should be available in the next two or three weeks. At that time, Gardner will meet with town officials and representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Public Health to share the test data.

But for now, the EPA's makeshift office in the basement multipurpose room of Town Hall has been broken down and the mobile command post has left the rear parking lot. Gardner said he is proud of the amount of work state, federal, town and fire officials accomplished since the blaze.

“We have responded to situations like this before but this could be the largest emergency response we've had in the past year,” he said.

For a month, nine teams of federal and state environmental officials and private contractors worked 12-hour shifts almost every day to remove the contaminated debris from a 5-by-1-mile area north of the site that included 681 residential, commercial and recreational properties. Two weeks ago the EPA set up six air-quality monitoring stations at the mill site to measure dust resulting from the demolition of the charred bell tower and the fragile signature smoke stack.

The federal agency has committed $750,000 in emergency response money to cover cleanup costs. However, if the crumbled brick and debris pile is not determined to be contaminated, the EPA cannot pay for its removal under the emergency-response designation.

This is a double-edged sword, said First Selectman Donald Gladding. On one hand the site is considered clean, a positive for the community and for potential developers hoping to salvage some of the valuable material. On the other hand the town does not have the money to continue the demolition and removal of the burnt portion of the mill or its dirtier southern half that was not impacted by the blaze.

The town does not own the property, which has been under the auspices of a federal bankruptcy trustee since the mid-1980s, and this could pose a problem for the town when it applies for grants from various programs recommended by state and federal legislators. Since the mill fire, Gladding has confirmed that funding pledged by U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., in a bill has been approved by Congress and signed by the president. The bill includes $250,000 to help with the clean-up costs. The town has not received the money, yet, Gladding said.

Gladding said he will wait until he receives the environmental test results to determine whether the town will proceed with the sale of the more than $1.2 million tax lien on the property.

Prior to the mill fire, the town has hoped to sell the lien to a private developer. This would allow the developer to foreclose on the property and potentially return the 16-acre site to a revenue-generating area. The town has declined to foreclose on the mill in an attempt to recoup the delinquent taxes because it would become liable for its cleanup. The sale was delayed because the mill was the center of a federal criminal investigation into the illegal demolition and release of asbestos in 2000. That investigation ceased the week before the fire.

Over the past two decades, millions of dollars have gone into removing some of the contaminants from the site, but asbestos and lead, and possibly other materials, remain the prominent problems in the still standing southern two-thirds of the building.

“The town goal is to continue the efforts to try to get it cleaned up. The concern is that the southern portion is the dirtier portion and maybe next time we won't be so fortunate that the wind will be blowing the right way,” Gladding said.

The state Department of Public Health continues to advise residents to take the following precautions when handling fire debris: wear gloves and wet the material with a fine mist before handling; place the debris in a plastic bag, seal it and dispose of it in regular trash; and do not bring any debris indoors.

Almost inevitably, Plainfield has joined the list of eastern Connecticut towns that have been put through living hell courtesy of the abandoned mills that once were their lifeblood.

All the ingredients were in place for the conflagration that lit up the sky at the former InterRoyal factory Tuesday night. The asbestos-riddled building should have been razed or cleaned up and renovated long ago. The business closed in 1986. But federal bureaucracy and a criminal investigation into illegal work done on the designated Superfund site in 2000 held up the work and made it a sitting duck for destruction. Fencing placed around the mill by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wasn't secure enough to keep out vagrants and the curious. A preliminary investigation suggests that the fire probably was started by a trespasser, although whether by accident or intent has not been determined.

Residents had long predicted such a fate for the brick behemoth. Town officials have been trying for years to get the EPA money designated for cleaning up the Superfund site. The mill's prime location could have been an economic asset had the eyesore been removed in a timely manner.

How lucky then, that there were no serious injuries as a result of the blaze that required 20 fire companies to extinguish, displaced families and shut down the schools. Firefighters and emergency workers can be proud that their training paid off and their universally praised handling of the crisis almost certainly saved lives.

Given that the site contained asbestos, lead and other contaminants, it is a near miracle that, so far, air quality and water tests have revealed only minimal levels made their way into the surrounding neighborhood. Wednesday's rain may have helped diffuse the threat.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has pledged that the state will make securing the dangerous mill site a priority and worry later about the cost. Good. This situation is not just a town problem, but a public health hazard. The governor's call to action must be welcome news for the town that has endured for nearly two decades with a ticking time bomb at its center.

Plainfield — Bob Kropp, his voice muffled as he spoke through a respirator mask, summoned his four-person search team around him for a close look at the contents of the plastic bag he held.

“This is what we're looking at,” he said, lifting the bag full of brittle, blackened shards to eye level. “Look for anything that looks burnt, even very small pieces. As small as it may be, we've got to grab it.”

Kropp, a licensed supervisor for asbestos abatement, gave his instructions Thursday to a team of workers gathered on Pleasant Street as they began the painstaking, yard-by-yard search for charred remains of the InterRoyal mill, about a mile away.

The huge fire that destroyed the mill Tuesday night and was still burning in isolated spots Thursday had spewed bits of what were once wooden floorboards and walls onto the lawns of homes and businesses as far as seven miles away.

Because the mill was known to contain such hazardous materials as asbestos insulation and lead paint, anyone who finds the debris is asked not to pick it up, but to contact authorities and wait for cleanup crews. Asbestos is a carcinogen, while lead exposure can cause cognitive, behavioral and growth abnormalities in children, as well as reproductive and nerve disorders and hypertension in adults, among other problems.

As cleanup began away from the still-smoldering mill, monitoring of the air at and around the fire site continued. Federal and state environmental officials said Thursday that the most recent tests for airborne lead and asbestos showed levels below those considered to be health hazards. The two substances were detected at relatively high levels during and immediately after the fire, but only for the short-term. Rain Wednesday appeared to have helped settle the particles, officials said.

“We're very relieved and very encouraged,” said Jeff Chandler, emergency response coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Two types of air samples from a 1,000-foot radius around the mill will continue to be taken for at least the next several days, he said. While the fire is still burning, new plumes of smoke containing lead and asbestos could still be released. State and federal officials will wait for a consistent trend of low contamination levels over several days before they consider the area completely safe. About 40 families who live near the mill were evacuated Tuesday. Late Thursday night, they were told they could return.

Linda Colangelo, public information officer for the Northeast District Department of Health, said fact sheets about the fire-related health issues would be distributed to local gas stations.

Colangelo said that any respiratory problems in pets are probably the result of smoke and not because of the inhalation of lead or asbestos. Pets that were outside during the fire should be washed outdoors so that any contaminants are not brought indoors, she said. Colangelo encouraged pet owners to call their veterinarian or contact her office with any questions.

While lead and asbestos concerns have abated, the same is not true of dust and ash coming from the fire, said Frank Gardner, on-scene coordinator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The dust and ash comprise mainly carbon particles from the burning wood, he said, and can cause problems for those with asthma or other lung conditions.

“It's nuisance dust,” he said. “We'll continue to monitor it for the next several days.”

Colangelo advised anyone with respiratory problems to stay at least a quarter-mile away from the fire site, where crews will continue to release dust.

Ownership of the property is unclear, according to Chandler of the DEP. InterRoyal abandoned the mill and filed for bankruptcy in the mid-1980s. Chandler said DEP and EPA officials have asked legal experts to try to determine ownership to assess financial responsibility for the cleanup of the fire, if possible.

With the fire expected to be out today, Chandler said the EPA and DEP would begin planning demolition and removal of the remainder of the building and cleanup of the site. The process will be similar to those followed after mill fires in Jewett City and Baltic.

While the cleanup of the mill site looms, the off-site cleanup progressed Thursday in residential areas of town. Crews, clad in head-to-toe protective white jumpsuits and masks, made for a surreal spectacle as they walked through quiet neighborhoods of green lawns dotted with colorful spring flowers. They picked up tiny pieces of debris with gloved hands or small plastic scoops, then emptied them into double-lined plastic bags for disposal.

“We've asked everybody to wait to cut their grass,” said Kropp, a field technician with Kropp Environmental Contractors, of Lebanon. The company is one of four hired by government agencies to do the extensive off-site cleanup, which was expected to continue for at least several more days.

“This is going to be a long process,” said Kropp, as he spotted another burned flake in the dirt.

FROM THE DAY: To report debris, call 230-3001. For fire-related health questions, call the state Department of Public Health at 509-7742 or the Northeast District Department of Health at 774-7350. Questions about the cleanup should be directed to the state DEP, 424-3338.

The fire that destroyed the InterRoyal Mill in Plainfield was an accident waiting to happen. The town, cash-strapped as it is, has tried to get enough money to clean up the toxic waste at the long-abandoned mill, yet the money was never enough for the demanding task of environmental cleanup. The wheels of government move far too slowly under nearly any circumstances, but they certainly didn't move fast enough to safely take care of the mill problem.

All abandoned mills, to a greater or lesser degree, are magnets for vagrants and arsonists. That this awful fire occurred is not surprising; many people predicted such a thing would occur over the years. But for Plainfield, the problem is immediate. The neglected mill saddled the town with an eyesore behind its town hall for years before Tuesday night's fire, Now, the eyesore is worse and the environmental implications are of even more concern. The cleanup, which should have been done long before now, will now be more expensive. Residents have the right to be apprehensive about the health implications of the fire.

Town officials met yesterday with Gov. M. Jodi Rell and will, no doubt, be meeting with state and federal government officials to coordinate the cleanup of this site. Yet the town has needed help with this mill for years. It's time the federal government, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency, heeded the urgent requests of the town in addressing what is now an ashen ruin, a blackened crater in the middle of town.

The InterRoyal mill fire is bad enough, but it is one of a continuing series of small disasters as the mills that once produced New England's prosperity fall to ruin and neglect.

This is just one more mill fire to occur in eastern Connecticut. The Baltic Mills, with its towering, granite structures, was truly beautiful, but abandoned just the same, and was burned beyond salvaging in August of 1999. That site, far from the highway, has languished. The Roto Print textile mill in Occum burned in 1985; after years of work, it is finally the site of a park. Stonington Borough's Monsanto Building in 2003 went up in flames even as a developer was in the process of renovating the structure for residences.

Mill buildings are often beautiful, with wide plank floors, tall windows and imposing towers. But usually the buildings contain dangerous asbestos which makes renovation incredibly expensive. As the structures are old, they come with none of the conveniences that modern technology and building codes demand. Years of industrial use means that the wooden floors and beams are soaked with oil and other solvents, which go up like tinder when accidental fires or arson occurs.

Connecticut's experience is duplicated in other New England states. Mill fires are simply not an unusual experience. But they are incredibly complex and dangerous to deal with, both during and after the fires.

Years ago the Quinebaug-Shetucket Corridor sponsored a conference on reusing mills. Such a conference, as part of a coordinated effort, is even more critical now.

The problem of abandoned mills is becoming ever more urgent as the years go by. Better to deal with them intelligently before a fire than than to encounter bigger problems afterward.

Fire Cause Undetermined As Town Weighs Next Step; Years Of Planning Helped Firefighters To Contain Blaze
New London DAY, April 28, 2005
By MEGAN BARD

Plainfield — As the InterRoyal Mill continued to smolder Wednesday, rain fell over the burnt industrial complex, creating smoke and havoc for firefighters still at work.

Crews from about 20 fire companies continued to take eight-hour shifts dousing the brick shell with water.

Plainfield Fire Marshal Paul Yellen said the fire that erupted Tuesday into 150-foot flames started in the center of the mill, possibly in the courtyard between the main section and small wooden sheds along the railroad bed. About one-third of the mill was leveled.

How the fire started is not yet known, but Yellen said it was most likely with help from “a human hand.” He could not say whether the fire was arson or an accident but said the condition of the mill might make it difficult to officially determine the cause.

Police Chief Gary Sousa said police are investigating the fire, but he would not say whether there are any suspects.

The mill, the centerpiece of the Lawton Mills Historic District and in the early 1900s the gem of Plainfield Village, has attracted less economic development and more unwelcome trespassers since the InterRoyal Corp. filed for bankruptcy and left Plainfield in the mid-1980s.

For residents and town officials it wasn't if the mill would catch fire, it was when. Local volunteer fire companies, police, and residents and businesses around the mill had emergency plans in place.

Yellen and Plainfield Fire Chief Leo Berube said planning was a major reason why firefighters were able to contain the fire to the mill complex. Fire crews had drilled for six years, they said, and until town officials declared the mill unsafe in 2000, firefighters walked through the structure periodically to update information on its soundness.

The plan divided the mill, which was split into two parts by a large central firebreak created illegally in 2000, into sections assigned to different fire companies.

Nearly 200 firefighters from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut responded to the fire. Officials said only one was injured, in a nonfirefighting-related accident.

Power was cut to the village for six hours to allow truck ladders to extend over the fire.

Plainfield Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Hutchinson was the first fire official on the scene because he was attending a Police Commission meeting in town hall. He took command and said he ordered that “at absolutely no time should people be in the building.”

The gigantic structure had been in a state of decay for nearly two decades; the roof had collapsed in areas, the windows were gone. A federal criminal investigation looked into the illegal demolition of sections of the asbestos-laden mill. A designated Super Fund site, the InterRoyal has long been on federal and state environmental cleanup lists.

The five-year federal investigation has also kept the town from marketing the property, which it does not own, to potential developers and from securing grant funding to pay for cleanup. U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said Tuesday night that the investigation was in the process of being officially closed when the fire struck.

In a press conference Wednesday in a town hall parking lot that overlooks the former textile and furniture mill, Gov. M. Jodi Rell promised that “resources will be available” to Plainfield for securing the site and demolishing and removing the charred debris.

The governor met privately with town and fire officials and environmental agency representatives for 30 minutes inside Town Hall before examining the still-smoldering ruins.

Rell addressed reporters in the rain and spray from firefighter hoses, her voice competing with the noise of firetruck engines and motors maneuvering the tower ladders into position.

“They did a marvelous job fighting this fire,” Rell said after thanking firefighters.

The governor said asked First Selectman Donald Gladding for a priority list of what needs to be done, starting with securing the area.

Rell said preliminary environmental testing for contamination “will determine our next course of action.”

Gladding said the town's immediate responsibility — and cost — will be to secure the site. He ordered new fencing Wednesday and said 24-hour security patrols are likely.

The north end of the mill is now three-story, free-standing, charred brick walls. Gladding said the damaged portion should be torn down as soon as possible, but Plainfield doesn't have money to pay for that up front. And most likely the town will have to wait for the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection Agency to clean the site before the building can be razed.

Still, Gladding said he hopes the dangerous portions of the mill can be torn down by the end of May. He recommended the entire mill complex be demolished at the same time and the site prepared for redevelopment. Last summer, the town received a rough estimate that it could cost about $1 million to tear down the complex. He couldn't say what that figure would be now.

Although the Villa Maria convalescent home was not evacuated, as originally reported, local health department officials, state DEP and local fire departments regularly checked on the residents. Firefighters were stationed at the rear of the building to protect it from any flaming debris.

Plainfield Fire Chief Leo Berube said 20 people were evacuated from houses north of the mill site and early Wednesday 25 families were told to leave their homes to the west of the mill along First, Second and Third streets and Third Street Extension.

The Early Childhood Center on Route 12 served as a makeshift shelter for some of the displaced families. The American Red Cross provided cots so people could stay there again Wednesday night after health officials advised against their returning home. Some were expected to stay with friends or family.

Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway was waiting for air contamination test results before deciding whether Plainfield Public Schools would open today. The schools were closed Wednesday because ash and debris had fallen onto the Central Village campuses of Plainfield High School and Shepard Hill Elementary School. A wind shift from north to west Wednesday enveloped the Plainfield Memorial and Central schools on Route 14A with smoke. Only the Moosup Elementary School and the ECC were not affected by the fire.

Conway urged parents and employees to tune into local radio and television stations to find out whether school would open today.

“I want to stress that we will err on the side of caution and will not bring children into school if there is any possibility that situation is unsafe,” Conway said.

If it is not, it could pose a problem for high school seniors. The state mandates that students attend 180 days of school. With graduation scheduled for June 9, if the seniors miss school today they will only have attended classes for 179 days. Conway said the Board of Education will have to decide how it will address the problem: school on Memorial Day, double sessions, postpone graduation or ask the state to make an exception.

For more information about the fire situation or any questions regarding property, phone the first selectman's office at 230-3001. For information on the public school district, contact the superintendent's office at 564-6403.

Plainfield — Tests of air samples taken at and near the InterRoyal Mill site detected lead and asbestos, though tests of groundwater in the vicinity appeared to show no sign of the contaminants, state and federal officials said late Wednesday night.

The state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted tests throughout the day in the wake of Tuesday's spectacular fire at the mill.

At a 10 p.m. press conference, Janice Tsang, an EPA spokeswoman, said lead was detected “in relatively high concentrations” on the north side of the mill building. She said more samples would be taken at 3 a.m. today.

Tsang said the tests also found lead at Plainfield High School, which is about four miles from the mill.

DEP spokesman Jeff Chandler gave results of air sampling for asbestos. The DEP sampled more than two-dozen sites within a 5-by-3-mile area north of the fire scene. Chandler displayed a map of the area showing asbestos found at about eight of those.

Chandler said according to preliminary results, the groundwater appeared to be safe.

Linda Colangelo, a spokeswoman for the Northeast Health District, said that people who had been displaced –– about 40 families from 20 duplexes –– should not yet return to their homes.

The Red Cross operated a shelter at the Early Childhood Center on Route 12, but most residents stayed with family or friends, town officials said.

Early Wednesday, two federal environmental officials studied a large aerial photo of Lawton Mill village, marking neighborhoods, schools and town property where they planned to set up air-pollution monitoring devices.

They rolled up the photo and headed out, intent on learning whether debris from Tuesday night's fire posed a hazard to the surrounding residential neighborhood, schools and playgrounds.

Officials were most concerned about airborne asbestos and lead paint, both of which were present in abundance in the 19th century brick and wooden mill.

Gary Lipson, on-scene coordinator for the EPA, said rain Wednesday provided a natural cleansing agent against the airborne particles. “The normal procedure with asbestos is you wet it down,” Lipson said.

Asbestos is a natural fibrous mineral used as insulation because of its resistance to heat. Inhaled fibers don't break down in the lungs and can cause cancer. Those exposed to asbestos regularly or on a long-term basis –– such as in a work environment –– are most at risk, according to a fact sheet provided Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health.

“It is unlikely that anyone in the area of a fire will have more than a short-term, low-level exposure from the fire,” the fact sheet said.

Schools were closed Wednesday, and Town Hall served as a command center for fire, town and police officials throughout the day and into the night. The fire continued to smolder and firefighters had to keep hoses trained on hot spots.

School Superintendent Mary Conway said she would decide early this morning whether to reopen schools, and advised parents to rely on radio and television reports.

The overnight fire destroyed the northern third of the vacant mill and spewed ash and debris on properties up to five miles from the site. Town, state and federal health and environmental officials cautioned residents not to touch the material, but to call Town Hall at 230-3001 to report any debris in their yards. The phone line was to be staffed throughout Wednesday night and this morning, town officials said.

By midday Wednesday, about 15 residents had called Town Hall to report debris, which Kropp Environmental Services of Lebanon was hired by the state Department of Environmental Protection to collect. Crews from the company donned white protective suits and gloves in front of Town Hall before combing the area there for debris.

The EPA used small air monitoring devices to measure contaminants. The monitors, about 6 inches tall, were stationed in four places early Wednesday. Three monitors were put in each location, one each for asbestos, lead and total particulates, Lipson said.

They chose five more locations based on the aerial photo and the wind direction –– along Route 14A, in the neighborhood north of Railroad Avenue and at local schools. The monitors collect six hours' worth of particulates, which are sent to state laboratory for results.

Canterbury -- At 7:11 P.M. Tuesday, Deputy Fire Chief Al LaVoie's pager went off. He pulled it from his pocket. At the time, he and his wife were evaluating an alarm system for their home.

“I wouldn't have left unless it was the big one,” LaVoie recalled Wednesday.

“Plainfield, signal 50” flashed across the pager's screen, followed by “Mill fire. InterRoyal. Calls from Railroad Avenue.”

LaVoie kissed his 6-year-old son goodbye and headed for Canterbury's fire station on Route 14.

The town's volunteer fire department played a key role in the first wave of responders to the blaze that claimed the abandoned mill just a stone's throw from Plainfield's Town Hall.

LaVoie and firefighter Andy Burroughs slouched on a couch in the fire station basement Wednesday afternoon. With bleary eyes and legs outstretched, they recalled the nearly 15 hours they spent at the mill the night before. Flanking them in easy chairs, Fire Chief Kyle McCarthy and firefighter Mike Banning helped fill in details.

As dusk settled Tuesday evening, the men said, they could see black clouds spreading across the horizon.

“When we saw the smoke from the station,” LaVoie said, “we knew we'd be up all night.”

Twenty-three of the department's 51 volunteers responded to the call. They pulled out every piece of equipment they could, including a brushfire truck, a ladder truck and a phalanx of emergency vehicles.

Within a short time, the Canterbury crew was at the northwest corner of the mill, in what Plainfield firefighters described as the most severe part of the conflagration.

“Canterbury took a beating with the smoke last night,” Plainfield Fire Chief Leo Berube said Wednesday.

With firefighters from Scotland, Griswold and the Mortlake Fire Company in Brooklyn, the men were sent to block the fire at the corner of First Street and Railroad Avenue, directly in the path of shifting northwesterly winds. Behind them, the blaze soon threatened the Horsebrook Café, a social club and a series of mill houses across the street.

“It felt like we were in a blizzard, except it was all burning embers,” LaVoie said. “At that point, Mike looked at me and said, ‘Whoa, this is cool!' ”

For 18-year-old Mike Banning, it was the first major fire of his career. “If anything, he loves it more now,” LaVoie said

Once in position, the Canterbury company extended its ladder and hose to work with other departments in a maneuver they described as “surround and drown.” On the ground, spot fires flared up all around.

“I had flashbacks of Jewett City,” McCarthy said, referring to a mill fire in the borough 10 years ago that left homes along Ashland Street severely damaged. An amazing level of cooperation between departments, he said, resulted in a far better outcome —this time, nothing but the mill burned.

The last truck back to Canterbury pulled into the garage at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday after Taftville was called in to replace the men at the scene. The fire, the men said, would likely burn for days.

Plainfield — Town Fire Marshal Paul Yellen said today that the fire that destroyed the vacant InterRoyal Mill Tuesday night appeared to have been set, but Yellen said it was too soon to determine if the fire resulted from an intentional arson or resulted from carelessness. He said teens had recently been found trespassing on the property.

As of this afternoon, firefighters were still pouring water on the smoldering remains, 18 hours after the spectacular fire first erupted at the mill. The blaze gutted the interior, but most of the three-story brick walls remain standing. A gray plume of smoke drifted through heavy rains and over an adjacent neighborhood, leading to a decision by health officials to ask residents of 1st, 2nd and 3rd streets to temporarily evacuate their homes until the smoke died down. About 25-30 homes are located on those streets.

Another 20 homes near the mill had been evacuated Tuesday night. Those residents have not been allowed to return.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was setting up five air quality monitoring stations down wind of the fire scene to test for asbestos, lead and other potentially hazardous materials that may have blown from the fire scene. Three monitoring stations were operating overnight, but results of that testing was not yet available.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell is planning to inspect the site this afternoon and consult with various agencies about the relief efforts.

Plainfield — The town's greatest nightmare came true Tuesday evening when the InterRoyal mill — a gigantic, blighted historic structure that cast shadows over Plainfield Village — went up in flames, potentially spreading asbestos fibers into the surrounding villages.

Nearly two dozen volunteer fire departments responded to the 7:10 p.m. call for the blaze at the old mill located behind Town Hall. Scores of firefighters worked tirelessly to contain the blaze as it ripped through the three-story main building and lit up the former bell tower in the middle of the structure like a candle with a frayed wick.

A cause for the fire, and the exact area where it started, had not been identified late Tuesday.

It's an event that many locals had prophesied and one that has concerned town officials for some time.

The mill, which has been vacant since the 1980s, is a Superfund site that has been the subject of a federal investigation into the illegal demolition and release of asbestos in 2000. After an arson fire in the mill that summer, Edward Carroll, a Vermont-based contractor, razed two sections of the structure, allegedly to create firebreaks to protect the adjacent Pervel Mill in case of such a blaze.

In 2003 Carroll pleaded guilty to violating the federal 2004 the town's former economic development director was convicted of giving Carroll permission to demolish the structures without following federal environmental guidelines.

In 2000, and again in 2003, the federal Environmental Protection Agency fenced off the site as it awaited enough federal funding for the cleanup and possible demolition of the structure. But the chain-link fence has not been enough to keep vagrants, homeless people and curious trespassers off the property, said First Selectman Donald Gladding.

Gladding and his predecessors have worked to obtain the money necessary to clean up and raze the mill through the EPA, the congressional delegation and other sources, but it has never been enough.

“The EPA could have spent $1 million to clean up the property,” said resident John Meyer as he watched the fire in its infant stages from the rear lawn of the Town Hall. “Now it could cost $10 million to sweep up Plainfield,” he said as dark smoke sparkling with burning asbestos particles spread as far as the village of Wauregan.

Meyer has walked the InterRoyal property dozens of times as a Plainfield resident, planning and conservation commission member, and a project manager for Tetra Tech US, Inc., an environmental firm that did two studies on the mill for the EPA and the town.

On Tuesday night, as Meyer watched the mill go up in flames, he spoke with awe, concern and bewilderment.

According to Meyer, based on where the flames were first seen, the fire could have started in the boiler room or the nearby courtyard. The roof of that area had long since collapsed, so it has been exposed to the elements.

As the fire spread up the old tower, the antique wooden water tanks at its peak crackled and then burst into flames. The blaze spread across the remaining portions of tattered roof on the mill's lower sections and eventually reached the wooden sheds that run along the exterior close to the railroad tracks. It did not take long for flames to engulf the sheds, under which is buried a 75,000-gallon No. 6 fuel oil tank.

Meyer last walked the property two or three years ago for Tetra Tech. On Tuesday he noted there was nothing in the building that would explode except for some old fire extinguishers, because the federal Environmental Protection Agency had removed most of the hazardous materials in the early 1990s.

Representatives from the EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection were monitoring the fire and the air quality to determine the amount of asbestos released Tuesday. Public safety officials and elected officials set up a command center in the rear of the Town Hall parking area.

Central Village Fire Chief Bob Lewis said small brush fires had started on the property but no damage had been reported to the residential properties, businesses or convalescent homes near the mill.

Meyer said about 200 cubic yards of lead-paint sludge is buried on the far side of the mill, close to a neighborhood. He said if the fire should spread there it would certainly disturb the sludge. It was not clear Tuesday night whether the brush fires were in that area.

Tom and Lauren Southern of Center Street were on their way home from Providence when they saw the smoke from Route 6. Police directed them to park their car on Gallup Hill, so they walked home carrying their 20-pound dog. Police would not allow them to get their van to bring Lauren's 62-year-old mother and their three children, the youngest of them one month old, to a safer location.

Kathy and David LeClair have lived across the street from the mill at 21 Community Ave. for 25 years. David's father worked in the mill for 44 years.

“He said one of these days it was going to go up,” David said. “He was right.”

The LeClairs described the initial flames as climbing up the smoke stack with the InterRoyal name painted on its side.

Although some residents of the Villa Maria convalescent home were removed, Lewis said in a later press conference that they did not evacuate any homes. “It is easier to protect civilians in their residences,” he said.

The chief said people who were already out of their houses were not able to go back in because the streets surrounding the mill area were blocked off.

Resident Sandy Collins said ash from the heavy smoke had fallen into the trees and lawn at her Wauregan home.

Lewis said if there is residue on a lawn the property owner should call the Plainfield Fire Department at 564-5541. He stressed not to touch the debris because of concern about the asbestos that was most likely released in the fire.

At 10:20 p.m., with the mill still fully engulfed, Gladding said no one had been injured. The first selectman said it was fortunate that the wind was blowing to the north end of the village.

“To the east and west there are circa-1900s houses. The chances of the houses catching fire would have been higher,” he said.

Around that time fire officials shifted their efforts to the northern section of the mill. The fire continued to burn as midnight approached.

Aside from his concern for residents, Gladding was worried about the property's future; the town has targeted it for more than two decades as a key to the town's revitalization.

Last month at a town meeting residents voted to allow the town to sell the $1 million tax lien it holds on the property. Once the lien is sold to a developer, the new owner could foreclose and create some economic opportunities on the site.

But the sale was put on hold as the town waited for the U.S. Attorney's Office to finish its criminal investigation into the 2000 incident.

Late Tuesday U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said the investigation into the environmental crimes has been closed. O'Connor said it was a collective decision to close the investigation, made by his office and the District One EPA headquarters in Boston. He investigations are generally closed when the office no longer has sufficient evidence to prove that criminal wrongdoing was involved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Plainfield— A staunch opponent of the Planning and Zoning Commission's decisions to create a new commercial zone and to rezone more than 900 acres for commercial development has filed several requests for town documents under the state Freedom of Information Act.

Resident David Ertsgard also filed a complaint Tuesday with the state Freedom of Information Commission, charging that the town's planning department has failed to provide him with copies of transcripts of a March 22 commission meeting.

Planning officials have said they cannot provide Ertsgard with a copy of transcripts they themselves do not have.

In his complaint, Ertsgard said he visited the planning office on three occasions over the past three weeks requesting a copy of the transcript of the March 22 meeting, at which the commission voted to approve regulations creating a Resort/Recreational Development District. On all three occasions, he said, Town Planner Lou Soja said the department did not have a copy of the transcript.

Ertsgard said that when he again requested a copy Monday, Soja flatly refused him and said the transcript was going to be used in court proceedings and that Ertsgard could not have a copy of it. Six appeals, including one by Ertsgard's Concerned Citizens for the Quiet Corner, have been filed in Superior Court regarding the March 22 vote.

Soja said the planning department requested that a court reporter be present at the March 22 meeting so that the town would have a transcript in the event it was sued over the commission's eventual decision. He said meeting minutes and tape recordings of commission meetings are available to the public.

Soja said he had not requested a copy of the March 22 transcript until Monday night. He said the town should receive a copy of the transcript in two to three weeks.

In a letter he said he wrote Tuesday, Soja told Ertsgard he would provide him with a copy of the transcript as soon as the planning department receives its copy.

Ertsgard also had filed an FOI request April 15 for “all computer records” from computers used by the first selectman, the zoning enforcement officer, the planning secretary and Soja.

On Tuesday, Ertsgard filed a fourth FOI request with First Selectman Donald Gladding, asking for copies of any statements read into the record by planning commission members Monday night in connection with their votes on the application to rezone more than 900 acres east of Interstate 395 at Exits 87 and 88 to create the new resort/recreational district.

Four Charged In Fires That Displaced Dozens In Norwich
The Hartford Courant
By SAMAIA HERNANDEZ, smhernandez@courant.com
7:42 PM EDT, July 25, 2012

NORWICH A woman and three men intentionally set two fires in March that damaged four buildings and displaced two dozen residents, police said on Wednesday.

Four local residents were charged with two counts of first-degree arson, two counts of third-degree burglary, and two-counts of first-degree criminal mischief: Laura J. MacDonald, 45, of 401 West Thames St.; Nicholas R. Fauquet, 18, of 38 McKinley Ave.; Matthew Markham, 18, of 287 Laurel Hill Ave.; and Jonathan O. Ortiz, 24, no address given.

A vacant apartment building at 7-9 Oak St. was deemed a total loss after fire broke out on March 26. The building sustained more than $500,000 in damages, fire officials said. Three neighboring apartment buildings also were damaged and two dozen residents were displaced.

On March 29, a fire at 11 Lake St. Damage caused an estimated $75,000 in damages.

MacDonald, who was arrested Tuesday, was arraigned at Superior Court in Norwich with bail set at $600,000. Fauquet, Markham, and Ortiz also were held on $600,000 bail each and are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

Anyone with information in connection with fires in Norwich is asked to call police at 860-886-5561

'Serial arsonist' charged in mill, hospital fires
By Karen Florin Day Staff Writer
Article published Sep 18, 2010

Accused serial arsonist Kevin M. Walker has been charged with setting fire to the Capehart Mill in Norwich in April and the former Norwich State Hospital more than three years ago.

Walker, 22, who is in custody at the New Haven Correctional Center, was brought to Superior Court in Norwich Friday where Norwich police and state police each served him with the arrest warrants charging him with first-degree arson, third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief.

Walker has been charged with several crimes by a task force investigating a string of arsons in and around Norwich over the past five years and has confessed to police that he is a "serial arsonist."

According to an arrest warrant affidavit in the Capehart case, Walker enlisted five others to join him at the unoccupied mill in the Greeneville section of the city on April 27 and bragged beforehand that he planned to set a fire "like nobody else has ever seen."

Ramon Ortiz, Walker and Laura J. McDonald climbed over a chain link fence topped with barbed wire to gain entry to the mill, then used gasoline to start fires at three points of origin, police said. Three others, Michael L. Baker, Victoria Ercoli and James Vanech, stood lookout or watched.

The fire took three days and seven million gallons of water to extinguish. Police said the blaze exposed firefighters and neighboring residents to asbestos. A city firefighter was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.

Walker is the sixth and last person expected to be arrested in the investigation, said Norwich police Sgt. Peter Camp, who added that the task force is still looking at other cases.

The Norwich State Hospital fire occurred on Aug. 11, 2007, and completely consumed a room on the second floor of the abandoned hospital's administration building. Walker is the second person to be charged in the case. Police recently charged Steven LaMotte, 23, of New Britain, in the case.

Walker's next court date is Oct. 5. His cases have all been transferred to the New London court where major crimes are tried.

Six Charged In Norwich Mill Fire; Police Expect More Arrests
KIM VELSEY, kvelsey@courant.com
7:44 PM EDT, August 25, 2010

NORWICH —Police have arrested four people in connection with a massive fire that destroyed the Capehart Mill in April. Two others have also been charged with first-degree arson, but they are currently incarcerated in Connecticut on unrelated charges. Police say that they anticipate further arrests.

On Tuesday morning police arrested Michael Baker, 23, of Taftville; Laura MacDonald, 43, of Norwich; and Victoria Ercoli, 19, also of Norwich. They were all charged with first-degree arson. The fourth person, James Vanech, 19, of Groton, turned himself in on Tuesday night after hearing that there was a warrant for his arrest, police say. He was also charged with first-degree arson.

Kevin Walker, 22 and Ramon Ortiz, 22, both of Moosup, have been charged with first-degree arson, and are in custody on other charges. Police say that arrest warrants for the two will be served at a later time.

The April 27 blaze at the abandoned mill took firefighters three days to put out, with 18 fire departments responding. Police say that they are still investigating the fire, as well as other suspicious fires that happened in the area.

Fire Destroys Norwich Family's Home; Lack of hydrants hurts firefighting; no one injured, but four pets missing
DAY
By Chuck Potter, Claire Bessette
Published on 5/15/2007

Norwich — Fire destroyed a two-story colonial-style home in Yantic Monday afternoon after firefighters arrived to find it engulfed in flames and struggled to get enough water to fight the inferno. The owners of the home, at 2 Deepwoods Drive, are Gary and Lisa Carignan. One of their four children, Olivia, 13, was in the house alone when the fire began shortly before 5 p.m. She escaped unharmed. No one was injured fighting the blaze, including members of nine departments that contributed to the effort.

“When we arrived there was heavy smoke,” Yantic Fire Chief Frank Blanchard said. “We started attacking it with two tanker trucks. This is a very rural location with no hydrants. So we were water-challenged. The fire got a good jump on us.”

Blanchard said the first call came from a resident on Scotland Road who saw the smoke from more than 1,000 feet away. Blanchard said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined. He said most of the family had left the home at about 3:15 p.m. and returned about 25 minutes after firefighters arrived.

A tanker brigade from seven departments — Bozrah, Lisbon, Colchester, Oakdale, Franklin, Gardner's Lake and Salem — shuttled water from hydrants more than two miles away, at Case and West Town streets, and at Scotland Road and East Town Street. At the intersection of Deepwoods and Scotland Road, firefighters from Yantic, East Great Plain and Lisbon manned portable tanks that resembled square wading pools. Tanker trucks emptied water into the tanks, each with a capacity of 3,000 gallons, then returned to a hydrant for more.

All of the equipment available at the East Great Plains, Yantic, Taftville and Bozrah departments was called into service. Occum, Laurel Hill and Baltic departments also assisted. The Salvation Army Canteen provided food and bottled water to the firefighters. Blanchard said the fire was concentrated in the area of the kitchen and dining area of the house and a rear porch overlooking a pool and trampoline in the back yard of the two-acre property.

“That's where we're concentrating our investigation,” he said. “The house was consumed rapidly.”

No walls or framework were left standing on the left side of the house. Only three of six second-story windows remained. Viewing the house from the right side to the left told the story of the heat that consumed it. The deep green clapboard became darker and darker, turning black to the left of the three-step front stoop whose wrought-iron railings were warped. The clapboards were destroyed on the far left side down to the foundation. On that side, only the chimney remained standing — until a construction crew was called in to take it down.

The yard was burned in an arc that extended about 40 feet from the house. Members of the Carignan family appeared in shock as they watched through a thick, smoky haze as firefighters doused the remains of their home from a ladder truck in the front yard. Emotion overcame them at times, as they crouched and hugged one another.

“We're just so thankful that everyone is safe,” Lisa Carignan said.

She and her husband Gary built the house in 1987 and raised their four children there. Their youngest daughter, Olivia, was the only one home at the time the fire began. A friend and her mother were approaching the house to pick up Olivia when they smelled smoke and called 911. Olivia's friend ran into the house to get her.

At the same time, Scott Appleton and Neil Warner, both of Canterbury and employees of Bartlett Tree Experts, were working next-door cutting down a tree. They saw smoke and ran to the house. They, too, called 911 as they saw the fire “consuming the back porch,” Appleton said. They grabbed a gas grill and propane tank and moved them away from the flames. The keys were in a Chevrolet Malibu in the driveway, so they drove it down to the end of the dead-end street out of harm's way.

“The wind was blowing from the back and blew the fire right into the house,” Warner said. “It got all the oxygen it needed.”

Gary and Lisa Carignan and Lisa's mother, Hilda Levy, were at a Norwich Free Academy baseball game in Ledyard. Their son, Connor Carignan, 17, is a member of the NFA team. Another son, Andrew, 20, is a student at the University of North Carolina, and another daughter, Kayleigh, 18, is a student at Clemson University.

Gary Carignan said he received a message during the baseball game that his house was on fire. At the scene, he discussed the fire with Blanchard, the fire chief, and accepted hugs from neighbors. Olivia stayed at her friend's house throughout the evening.

As she watched, Kayleigh tried to talk to well-wishers through tears. Levy said Andrew called from North Carolina and said, “I just want my dog.”

The family's pets, a golden retriever named Maddie, two cats and a chinchilla, were in the house when the fire started and are reported missing. As the evening wore on, members of the NFA baseball team made their way up Scotland Road, parking their cars as close as they could get and walking the rest of the way to offer support to their teammate.