Fire victims unhappy with investigation

John Howell
Posted 4/21/15

Despite testimony that space heaters were used to dry out walls and ceilings damaged by leaks caused by ice dams in the Westgate Condominium building consumed in a fast-moving fire March 11, the …

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Fire victims unhappy with investigation

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Despite testimony that space heaters were used to dry out walls and ceilings damaged by leaks caused by ice dams in the Westgate Condominium building consumed in a fast-moving fire March 11, the state fire marshal has concluded what sparked the fire could be a variety of things. For that reason, the cause of the fire has been ruled inconclusive.

Many of the tenants and owners who lost everything to the fire don’t buy it.

“They tore the building down, there’s no evidence,” said John Friscellla, who had moved into the building four months before the fire.

Friscella was one of more than 250 people who attended a fundraiser for the victims of the fire held Sunday at the Villa in West Warwick. Mac Odom, who was also a tenant in the building, planned the event.

The event raised $5,731, which Odom said would be divided evenly between those who were living in the building at the time of the fire.

“It’s bull,” said Odom. “It took six weeks to come to this conclusion.”

Like others interviewed Sunday, Odom believes a space heater “that looked like a jet engine” was responsible for starting the fire.

“We need the attorney general to overrule and conduct a thorough investigation because it’s not going to happen through Westgate,” said condo owner James Simmons.

Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, said yesterday the office has not received a request for further investigation, and it is her understanding no criminal activity has been found in connection with the fire. She said that should a request be received, it would be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

John Chartier, a retired Warwick fire chief and now state fire marshal, released the long-awaited report Thursday. It was followed up by a press conference in the office of Mayor Scott Avedisian.

Chartier said because sections of the plaster ceiling had been removed in the three-floor apartment in Building C, once the fire started, it “was incredibly fast moving.” In a matter of 30 minutes, the roof of the 38-unit building was fully engulfed sending up clouds of black smoke that could be seen in neighboring states.

Fortunately, few people were in the building at 10:30 a.m., and those who were – including a work crew that told Odom of the fire, who then spread the alarm with one or two tenants – escaped without injury.

The report narrows the origin of the fire to the living room/dining room of a third-floor unit based on photographs provided by a resident and an off-duty Coventry firefighter who was on the scene. According to information provided by the tenant, whose name is redacted from the report along with the name of the company retained to make the roof repairs, a section of the room was enclosed in plastic isolating the area where the ceiling was being repaired. An electric space heater was being used in that area, the report says.

The first fuel ignited, the report suggests, could be a number of items, including a couch, loveseat, blue tarp used to cover the floor, wall studs, wooden table, the plastic sheet or the heater’s cardboard box.

The source of ignition may have been electrical receptacles in the living room, a switch for the balcony light, a floor lamp, a television or the space heater, the report states.

“At this point, based on evidence, we’ve gone as far as we can go,” Chartier said Thursday.

He acknowledged that the demolition of the building that started as the site was still smoldering might have destroyed evidence that would have been helpful in tracking down the source of the fire. Chartier defended Warwick Chief Edmund Armstrong’s decision to level what was still standing.

“The safety of firefighters is absolutely the most important thing,” he said.

But tenants and owners question why the whole building had to be leveled, especially when many of the lower units furthest from the origin of the fire weren’t burned. They are also irritated that they can’t poke through the ruble in an effort to retrieve belongings.

Simmons said a crew from Liberty Mutual, which insures the property, has been sorting through debris and pulling items aside. A security crew at the site Sunday afternoon said the insurance crew of six to eight has been sifting through debris as it is pulled from a pile and spread out for the last 10 days. As only one pile has been sorted and there are at least three, they estimated the process would take several more weeks to complete.

Simmons said it is his understanding that tenants will have the opportunity to look over items recovered from the site, although a date and time has not been set.

He noted that condo owners are still required to pay monthly fees of $309 even though they no longer have units. He said he is thinking of pitching a tent on the property so that he can avail himself of the complex’s amenities, including a swimming pool that he is paying for.

In a separate interview, Warwick Fire Marshal Peter Marietti III said the fire alarm box was retrieved from the building. He described the system as being relatively new and high tech. From the system, they were able to ascertain when and where the fire started. He said that the building was in compliance with code.

As the building was constructed in 1975, it complied with the codes then that did not require sprinklers or fire walls. That is also the case with the two other Westgate condo buildings.

While they are “grandfathered in,” Armstrong said he is hopeful improvements can be made. When the new Building C is built, which the condo association is reportedly moving forward with, it will have to meet today’s codes.

While he is not the condo owner, Friscella said that soon after a meeting for tenants and owners at the Crowne Plaza about 10 days after the fire, he started receiving inquiries from Greico Construction over what type of title and other elements of a new condo unit he would prefer.

The lack of water pressure hindered firefighters’ efforts to suppress the blaze.

“The lack of water pressure led to the size of the loss,” Chartier said.

Westgate has its own water system that is tied into the Kent County Water Authority. The system has two pumps that provide pressure for day-to-day water use and a booster pump that is linked to a series of four hydrants. According to information provided to the Beacon a week after the fire, the booster pump was switched on about 15 minutes after firefighters arrived at the scene. It over heated, was shut down briefly and then started up again.

Asked about the system, Chartier said that the maintenance and testing of “private” systems is the responsibility of the property owner.

“It is their responsibility to notify if they have deficiencies,” he said. “No such notifications were made.”

To access water, Warwick tied into the system of the nearby Spencer Woods condo development, which is also fed by Kent County. Although it was within 200 feet of Westgate, firefighters did not use a water authority hydrant on the opposite side of Quaker Lane. At the time of the fire, snow banks lined Quaker Lane, and soon after it started spectators parked on both sides of the road.

Asked whether the water authority has identified any issues, Armstrong said, “We haven’t received any information to date from Kent County Water Authority.”

Avedisian said he is looking for improved communications with the water authority that could lead to “mapping” and policy changes.

Chartier’s report also referenced an anonymous letter sent to the West Warwick Police Department from the Adult Correctional Institution claiming that an individual made threats to burn down the building because of issues he had with a tenant.

Chartier said interviews were conducted.

“We don’t believe the letter was credible,” he said.

 

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