By William Kaempffer and Randall Beach
The New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A three-alarm fire that destroyed a Newhallville apartment building Friday afternoon was caused by arson, fire officials said Saturday, after accelerants were found in multiple locations at the rear of the charred structure.
A trained dog from the state Fire Marshal’s office sniffed among the wreckage of the three-story building and signalled in several locations toward the back where witnesses first reported seeing flames.
City Fire Marshal Joe Cappucci said based on the dog’s signals and evidence found, there were clear indications the fire was “intentionally set.”
Although Cappucci said investigators are sure an accelerant was used, “We just don’t know what it was. The (state) lab will identify it.”
He said police detectives have interviewed more than 100 people so far. Cappucci said the building’s owner and tenants were cooperative.
On Friday night, firefighters went into apartments they could access in the building to retrieve car keys, jewelry, cash and medication.
Residents of a second building that caught fire on Division Street were allowed inside to salvage what they could.
The decimated apartment house is at the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Division Street, normally a busy spot. But on Saturday, traffic heading north on Dixwell was detoured on Gibbs Street because a portion of Dixwell was closed as the building was readied for demolition. Fire Chief Michael Grant said the structure is “a total loss.”
But business was humming along at Moe’s Market, located across the street from the burned-out apartment building. Pat Henderson, a neighborhood resident who was in Moe’s Saturday morning, said she ran into the blazing building when she saw the smoke.
“I was trying to get people out of there,” she said. “You think fast when you see a fire.”
Henderson said she roused tenant Shaun James. “I said, ‘Fire!’ I kicked open the door and I ran. She ran to get her dog.”
Turning to Tony Hernandez, who was working behind the counter at Moe’s, Henderson said, “Tony, wasn’t it like 9-11? That smoke? Boom!”
Henderson said Hernandez was “the real hero” because he ran inside the burning structure and pulled people out.
“You definitely saved a lady’s life,” Henderson told Hernandez. “Everybody thought she was out but you.”
Hernandez replied, “I knew she was inside. I was yelling, ‘Rhonda! Where are you? Get the hell out of here! Go! Go!’”
He said the woman was asleep but finally woke up and got out.
“I tried to help people,” Hernandez said with a shrug. “I’m not God.”
As the reminiscences continued, Shaun James walked into the store, looking weary and bleary-eyed. She had spent the night in a motel, with help from the American Red Cross.
“Pat was banging,” she said, “but I wasn’t opening my door. I don’t open my door for anybody.” Besides, she said, she was in the shower.
James added, “I didn’t know there was a fire until I went out the back and saw everything popping. I had to grab my dog and get out of there.”
“This is a shame,” she said, looking across the street at her former home. “I can’t believe it.”
She has no idea where she will live.
James was holding a tattered Social Security card, virtually the only possession she was able to save.
Asked if she had carried out anything else, she said, “My dog.”
The neighborhood is going through a traumatic period, with several deaths by shootings and now the fire. But residents were relieved that nobody died in the fire, which struck mid-afternoon Friday.
Seventeen people have told city officials they lost their homes in the fire. Those officials were preparing to open a shelter for the families but city spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said this proved to be unnecessary as the people made other arrangements.
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