Fire in vacant Davidson Building downtown, Friday night. Last week the city suffered a fire in Black Rock that impacted businesses and displaced 13 residents and also a fire originating in the basement of a legal building downtown.
0
18 comments
Uh Lennie, you need to give me something to work with …
Perhaps Lennie is referring to the fire last Saturday in Black Rock that originated in the basement of Marty’s Pizza new location and kept equipment and personnel from more than one location busy for hours, displacing businesses and more than 12 apartment dwellers.
Or perhaps he is referring to the downtown fire in a below-ground vault last Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of Broad Street that caused the shutdown of electricity in a large area of downtown. (If you were attending a show at the Playhouse on the Green, the lights went off and the actors on the stage were in the dark, no DOUBT!) They stayed off for about 45 minutes and police tape was up on the street later.
Last night that same area was closed off as I made my way home from a semi-final NCAA hockey game. This is the fire that Lennie is referencing I guess.
No deaths or injuries reported. That is to the good. But difficult fires in three commercial locations within seven days. That might promote a question like “What’s the deal?” I am interested to hear more, like after-incident fire reports?
We will probably not get an accurate account of what caused these fires. The question is why won’t we get an accurate account?
The city, starting with Mayor Fabrizi and former chief Maglione, have let the fire investigative unit deteriorate to a point there are no highly trained fire investigators in the fire department. I know this sounds harsh and I want to point out it is not the fault of the people now doing the job.
Fire investigation is a highly technical and complex field that requires constant study and education. It also requires an extreme amount of practical experience.
Former chief Maglione did not want to deal with a few malcontents in the Fire Marshal’s office who thought they knew how to run the division. Instead of taking charge Maglione decided to split the investigative unit into 12 parts thus giving everyone in the Fire Marshal’s office a chance to be on call, get the on-call money and go to fires on a part-time basis. He did not allow for follow-up investigation. This practice did not allow for investigators to get the practical experience they needed. Thus we had 12 fire investigators who really were not learning fire investigation.
This system was given the okay by mayor Fabrizi. Even when I told Fabrizi what was happening he ignored my recommendations. This let’s make everyone happy approach has been carried on under chief Rooney.
I have no axe to grind here but I will tell you it breaks my heart to see what this division has become.
After I retired from this division I became the head of a major insurance carrier’s investigative unit which had 27 highly trained fire investigators and a forensic lab. All of my investigators were court-qualified fire investigation experts.
It got so bad getting reports out of the Bridgeport Fire Marshal’s Office that when we did get a copy of a report they were generally incorrect. I stopped sending my investigators to the Bridgeport Fire Marshal’s office.
It was not the fault of the investigators in the Marshal’s Office, it was and is the fault of mayors Fabrizi and Finch; it is the fault of former chief Maglione and present chief Rooney.
I offered the services of my investigators and of our forensic lab to train select fire investigators and was told to mind my own business.
Without being at the scenes I would say at first blush we had two accidental fires and a fire caused by either vagrants or vandals.
If you notice when there is a major fire in Bridgeport the city calls in the state fire marshal’s office to do the job that was formerly handled by the city’s investigators. What a shame.
That’s not a bad thing, calling in the state’s fire investigations unit. They can be trusted to do a thorough and objective job, letting the chips fall where they may.
The mayor showed up in Black Rock last Saturday to attend the fire. He spoke at length with Marty McCarthy, whose pizza joint burned. McCarthy is a City Councilman. One elected official looking after another. Snipes of a feather and all that. He spent a little time speaking with some of the 13 people left homeless by the fire. That was about it. The landlord was having a hard time finding his checkbook to repay the security deposits of his former tenants. His excuse? “I don’t have the cash on hand to write checks …” Another sleazy carpetbagger pimping off the residents of the neighborhood. (A benefit for the tenants is being organized by one of the businesses on Fairfield Avenue. The mayor’s attitude–and that of the Tammany Hall-like political machine that maintains the dysfunctional status quo–toward the people of the city of Bridgeport is “Fuck ’em.” But we will help them.)
The DTC operatives in the neighborhood are organizing a fundraiser for McCarthy. His business was fully insured. One has to wonder how much more money he needs to rebuild a goddamned pizza joint.
“town committee” I agree with your assessments but you have not pushed hard enough to resolve this life & death issue. Andy, you know everything starts at the top & Fire Chief Rooney has never shown leadership. It is the fire chief who must make the case you have stated to Mayor Finch but we hear nothing so the mayor will not address this life & death problem & the citizens of Bridgeport will continue to suffer.
Ron certainly some of the blame rests with Chief Rooney and his Fire Marshal. They can institute the fire investigative unit without going to the mayor. I will lay part of the blame on both former mayor Fabrizi where the problem started and on present mayor Finch. The person who really is responsible is former chief Maglione.
Maglione refused to deal with the malcontents in the Fire Marshal’s Office most of whom have since been fired for various offenses.
People don’t get warm and fuzzy over the State Fire Marshal’s Office coming into Bridgeport. Many of their investigators are inexperienced and for some unknown reason it takes 6 weeks or more for them to write a report on their findings.
I have testified in court several times where a claim was denied as we claimed it was arson and the SFM claimed it was an accidental fire. We won every case where they testified for the insured. So much for the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
We need to designate two fire investigators and insure they be allowed to get the practical experience as well as insure they get the latest training available. Will the city do that? NO they won’t.
The state fire marshal’s office handled the investigation into the fire that killed two brave Bridgeport Firefighters. Does anyone know the results?
The origin & cause investigation report I don’t believe has been released by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The other thing that has not been released is what were they doing on the 3rd floor? Was it search and rescue or was it to check for fire extension?
I have no idea. I can say the cause of the fire in Black Rock last Saturday has a large question mark next to it. There’s a lot of suspicious speculation on the street. A lot of the locals think it’s a case of insurance fraud. I’m not saying I agree with that assumption. The facts don’t quite add up. Something is not right about that. I would like to see the final report of that investigation.
0
The elected officials in Bridgeport care only for the people they think may vote for them. Thirteen people are homeless because of a fire? Fuck ’em, they didn’t vote for us. A construction company illegally dumping truckloads of earth on the East Side? And you say it’s sending clouds of dust and dirt through the neighborhood and affecting the quality of life on Seaview Avenue? Fuck ’em, they didn’t vote for us.
If they did, it would appear the mayor’s office and the City Councilman who represents that district are guilty of antipathy and indifference toward the residents of that neighborhood.
There are regime changes being effected in North Africa and the Middle East. We don’t need military intervention. All we need to do is overcome the pessimism of the city’s residents.
The protests sweeping North Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the Arab world were organized via Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Yahoo!, Google, and other social networking tools. That can be done here in Bridgeport, and we don’t have to worry about armed forces firing tear gas, .50-caliber machine guns, RPGs, etc. Nonviolent political reform begins at the ballot box.
I don’t cherish anyone losing their business to a fire. That’s a terrible thing and I’m deeply sorry it ever happens. I haven’t seen the community at large really reaching out to the people left homeless or otherwise affected by the fires. Maybe there are church groups and such. There are events being organized for some of the affected parties, but not all. There is a great sense of community in Bridgeport but it seems kind of fragmented. The politically aware people of the city have a fairly cynical view of anything originating from the Mayor’s office or the City Council. This breeds bitterness and pessimism that leaks down into daily living. Shit runs downhill.
The cornerstone of American criminal justice is innocence until guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Davidson Fabric fire was probably set by a homeless person trying to keep warm. The other fires are still under investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Unless and until a suspicion of arson is confirmed by that agency and the case is handed to the State Attorney’s office the public will not know the cause of the fire. 13 people were left homeless by the fire in Black Rock last weekend. That’s more than enough to warrant a thorough investigation.
Uh Lennie, you need to give me something to work with …
Perhaps Lennie is referring to the fire last Saturday in Black Rock that originated in the basement of Marty’s Pizza new location and kept equipment and personnel from more than one location busy for hours, displacing businesses and more than 12 apartment dwellers.
Or perhaps he is referring to the downtown fire in a below-ground vault last Sunday afternoon in the vicinity of Broad Street that caused the shutdown of electricity in a large area of downtown. (If you were attending a show at the Playhouse on the Green, the lights went off and the actors on the stage were in the dark, no DOUBT!) They stayed off for about 45 minutes and police tape was up on the street later.
Last night that same area was closed off as I made my way home from a semi-final NCAA hockey game. This is the fire that Lennie is referencing I guess.
No deaths or injuries reported. That is to the good. But difficult fires in three commercial locations within seven days. That might promote a question like “What’s the deal?” I am interested to hear more, like after-incident fire reports?
We will probably not get an accurate account of what caused these fires. The question is why won’t we get an accurate account?
The city, starting with Mayor Fabrizi and former chief Maglione, have let the fire investigative unit deteriorate to a point there are no highly trained fire investigators in the fire department. I know this sounds harsh and I want to point out it is not the fault of the people now doing the job.
Fire investigation is a highly technical and complex field that requires constant study and education. It also requires an extreme amount of practical experience.
Former chief Maglione did not want to deal with a few malcontents in the Fire Marshal’s office who thought they knew how to run the division. Instead of taking charge Maglione decided to split the investigative unit into 12 parts thus giving everyone in the Fire Marshal’s office a chance to be on call, get the on-call money and go to fires on a part-time basis. He did not allow for follow-up investigation. This practice did not allow for investigators to get the practical experience they needed. Thus we had 12 fire investigators who really were not learning fire investigation.
This system was given the okay by mayor Fabrizi. Even when I told Fabrizi what was happening he ignored my recommendations. This let’s make everyone happy approach has been carried on under chief Rooney.
I have no axe to grind here but I will tell you it breaks my heart to see what this division has become.
After I retired from this division I became the head of a major insurance carrier’s investigative unit which had 27 highly trained fire investigators and a forensic lab. All of my investigators were court-qualified fire investigation experts.
It got so bad getting reports out of the Bridgeport Fire Marshal’s Office that when we did get a copy of a report they were generally incorrect. I stopped sending my investigators to the Bridgeport Fire Marshal’s office.
It was not the fault of the investigators in the Marshal’s Office, it was and is the fault of mayors Fabrizi and Finch; it is the fault of former chief Maglione and present chief Rooney.
I offered the services of my investigators and of our forensic lab to train select fire investigators and was told to mind my own business.
Without being at the scenes I would say at first blush we had two accidental fires and a fire caused by either vagrants or vandals.
If you notice when there is a major fire in Bridgeport the city calls in the state fire marshal’s office to do the job that was formerly handled by the city’s investigators. What a shame.
That’s not a bad thing, calling in the state’s fire investigations unit. They can be trusted to do a thorough and objective job, letting the chips fall where they may.
tc:
You’d think the people in charge … would listen to the people who know.
Not in this city!
The mayor showed up in Black Rock last Saturday to attend the fire. He spoke at length with Marty McCarthy, whose pizza joint burned. McCarthy is a City Councilman. One elected official looking after another. Snipes of a feather and all that. He spent a little time speaking with some of the 13 people left homeless by the fire. That was about it. The landlord was having a hard time finding his checkbook to repay the security deposits of his former tenants. His excuse? “I don’t have the cash on hand to write checks …” Another sleazy carpetbagger pimping off the residents of the neighborhood. (A benefit for the tenants is being organized by one of the businesses on Fairfield Avenue. The mayor’s attitude–and that of the Tammany Hall-like political machine that maintains the dysfunctional status quo–toward the people of the city of Bridgeport is “Fuck ’em.” But we will help them.)
The DTC operatives in the neighborhood are organizing a fundraiser for McCarthy. His business was fully insured. One has to wonder how much more money he needs to rebuild a goddamned pizza joint.
“town committee” I agree with your assessments but you have not pushed hard enough to resolve this life & death issue. Andy, you know everything starts at the top & Fire Chief Rooney has never shown leadership. It is the fire chief who must make the case you have stated to Mayor Finch but we hear nothing so the mayor will not address this life & death problem & the citizens of Bridgeport will continue to suffer.
Ron certainly some of the blame rests with Chief Rooney and his Fire Marshal. They can institute the fire investigative unit without going to the mayor. I will lay part of the blame on both former mayor Fabrizi where the problem started and on present mayor Finch. The person who really is responsible is former chief Maglione.
Maglione refused to deal with the malcontents in the Fire Marshal’s Office most of whom have since been fired for various offenses.
People don’t get warm and fuzzy over the State Fire Marshal’s Office coming into Bridgeport. Many of their investigators are inexperienced and for some unknown reason it takes 6 weeks or more for them to write a report on their findings.
I have testified in court several times where a claim was denied as we claimed it was arson and the SFM claimed it was an accidental fire. We won every case where they testified for the insured. So much for the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
We need to designate two fire investigators and insure they be allowed to get the practical experience as well as insure they get the latest training available. Will the city do that? NO they won’t.
The state fire marshal’s office handled the investigation into the fire that killed two brave Bridgeport Firefighters. Does anyone know the results?
The report on the deaths of the two firefighters is in the public record.
The origin & cause investigation report I don’t believe has been released by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The other thing that has not been released is what were they doing on the 3rd floor? Was it search and rescue or was it to check for fire extension?
I have no idea. I can say the cause of the fire in Black Rock last Saturday has a large question mark next to it. There’s a lot of suspicious speculation on the street. A lot of the locals think it’s a case of insurance fraud. I’m not saying I agree with that assumption. The facts don’t quite add up. Something is not right about that. I would like to see the final report of that investigation.
The elected officials in Bridgeport care only for the people they think may vote for them. Thirteen people are homeless because of a fire? Fuck ’em, they didn’t vote for us. A construction company illegally dumping truckloads of earth on the East Side? And you say it’s sending clouds of dust and dirt through the neighborhood and affecting the quality of life on Seaview Avenue? Fuck ’em, they didn’t vote for us.
BUT what if they did … what if they did?
If they did, it would appear the mayor’s office and the City Councilman who represents that district are guilty of antipathy and indifference toward the residents of that neighborhood.
There are regime changes being effected in North Africa and the Middle East. We don’t need military intervention. All we need to do is overcome the pessimism of the city’s residents.
The protests sweeping North Africa, the Middle East and the rest of the Arab world were organized via Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Yahoo!, Google, and other social networking tools. That can be done here in Bridgeport, and we don’t have to worry about armed forces firing tear gas, .50-caliber machine guns, RPGs, etc. Nonviolent political reform begins at the ballot box.
I don’t cherish anyone losing their business to a fire. That’s a terrible thing and I’m deeply sorry it ever happens. I haven’t seen the community at large really reaching out to the people left homeless or otherwise affected by the fires. Maybe there are church groups and such. There are events being organized for some of the affected parties, but not all. There is a great sense of community in Bridgeport but it seems kind of fragmented. The politically aware people of the city have a fairly cynical view of anything originating from the Mayor’s office or the City Council. This breeds bitterness and pessimism that leaks down into daily living. Shit runs downhill.
Oh, those knuckleheaded kiddies in One-Term Bill’s office, posters keep tellin’ them not to play with gasoline and matches. Will they ever learn?
The cornerstone of American criminal justice is innocence until guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Davidson Fabric fire was probably set by a homeless person trying to keep warm. The other fires are still under investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Unless and until a suspicion of arson is confirmed by that agency and the case is handed to the State Attorney’s office the public will not know the cause of the fire. 13 people were left homeless by the fire in Black Rock last weekend. That’s more than enough to warrant a thorough investigation.