nothin Fire Damage Totals $10M | New Haven Independent

Fire Damage Totals $10M

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(Updated: 5:32 p.m.) A fire that ripped through a downtown block Wednesday morning has destroyed at least six businesses and incurred $10 million in damages, city officials say.

Firefighters were still pouring water into the shells of downtown stores at 5 p.m. Wednesday, as the city began to recover from a major blaze that destroyed a New Haven landmark and sent the city center into a frenzy for the greater part of the day.

The fire, the biggest downtown has seen in decades, started in the middle of the former Kresge department store, in the center of the block between Center and Chapel Streets. It was reported at 6:33 a.m. and was under control by 9:50 a.m., according to mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga. The fire ruined at least six businesses, but no one was hurt. Firefighters were able to keep the flames away from other stores, apartments and condos on that block.

Mayorga said at 5 p.m. inspectors had not yet entered the charred stores to probe the cause of the fire, which remained undetermined.

Residents of two evacuated apartment buildings were allowed to return to their homes, and Church and Orange Streets were reopened Wednesday afternoon. Gov. M. Jodi Rell paid a rare visit to New Haven to assess the damage, offering words of support but no specific state aid proposal, according to Mayorga.

Mayorga said the city has assessed the economic impact of the fire at $10 million. That includes physical damage and loss of revenue, she said.

No one was injured in the three-alarm fire, said Mayor John DeStefano at a mid-morning press briefing, while hoses still blasted the wreckage of the Kresge building.

IMG_0115.JPGFirefighters got tipped off from a neighbor’s call at 6:33 a.m. this morning. The fire appears to have started towards in the central most part of the block, behind the Brass Monkey bar on Center Street, according to Fire Marshal Joe Cappucci.

Cappucci said the Kresge building, a former department store with a facade on Chapel Street (pictured) and rear exit on Center, would likely have to be demolished because the whole roof had caved in.

IMG_0114.JPGOutside the Dunkin’ Donuts at Center and Chapel at 9:30 a.m., the Bonanno family huddled. They looked down Center Street (pictured) at Vito’s deli, the popular sandwich shop they’ve run for 34 years. DeStefano later reported, to their relief, that the shop was not touched by the fire. Smoke and water damage appeared likely, however.

Alex Marathas, who manages the old Kresge/Grant buildings, a key piece of downtown real estate, stood by watching his dreams go up in smoke. The double-T-shaped building stands in the center of the prime block of Church, Chapel, Orange and Center, with entrances on each side of the block. For years the building was neglected, in disrepair amid multi-million dollar redevelopment projects. The second story has remained empty for many years. New owners bought it earlier this year. (Click here for a story about that.) Marathas manages the property for its new owners, who were in the conceptual phase of redesigning it.

IMG_0091.JPGAround 9:20 a.m. Wednesday Marathas stood outside the smoke-filled building watching firefighters hose down the building’s blighted top floor and ascend ladders to enter through the second-story windows.

The owners hadn’t started renovating the building yet, Marathas said. Now I wonder what’s going to happen.” All six businesses hit hardest by the fire were on the properties Marathas manages. He said the buildings did have fire insurance. He regretted that so many small shops would have to miss out on the holiday shopping season.

According to city spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga, six of the 14 retail stores on that block were damaged beyond repair: Expressions, Mad Rag, and New Haven Furniture, and Chinatown on Chapel were burnt out, as was the Brass Monkey bar on Center Street (pictured). The New Haven Variety Store on Church was suffering from four feet of standing water, reported DeStefano.

A total 65 firefighters (including Ishmael Cruz, pictured at the top of this story) from 11 of the city’s 12 engine companies fought tirelessly to contain the blaze, Grant said. He commended them for keeping the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. There are 96 residential units on that block, as well as a parking garage. All the apartments were evacuated safely, and residents were given a safe haven to warm up at the nearby Starbucks.

Dee Dee Anderson, who lives at Orange and Center, went out to get coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts around 6:30 a.m. I looked up and saw a big old black cloud coming out of the Brass Monkey.” She rushed home to make sure her daughter was OK, which she was. Smoke filled the apartment; they fled for safety.

IMG_0098.JPGWatching from the Green later in the morning as firefighters shot water into Chapel Street buildings, Anderson feared for the fate of stores like the Foot Locker and Expressions. It’s terrible,” she said. This will affect us for a long time. Now we got nowhere to shop.”

The mayor’s chief of staff, Sean Matteson, was one of the first eyewitnesses on the scene. He was getting a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts around 6:30 at Center and Church. As he started to walk back to City Hall, he saw flames shooting up 15 feet high at the Brass Monkey as well as at the Kresge building on Chapel. As fire trucks arrived, Matteson rushed back to City Hall to tell the mayor, who was already at work.

The fire marshal and police were expected to enter the buildings to assess the damage and probe the cause, but not until after the last embers had been put out, Mayorga said.

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