Thomas Breen photo
The partially demolished historic Walter Camp house.
Someone intentionally set the Christmas Day fire that ravaged the historic Walter Camp house at 1303 Chapel St.
The question now is: Who did it?
So Fire Chief John Alston Jr. reported Friday.
He told the Independent that his investigators came to that conclusion this week after being able to examine more evidence at the burned-out hulk.
Previously, the precarious condition of the building had prevented fire investigators from going into some key parts of the building, he said.
Then, this week, a demolition crew got to work tearing down the roof and third floor of the long-vacant house.
“As they started to remove portions of the building, our investigators were there to examine pieces they weren’t able to investigate before,” Alston said. They “confirmed an accelerant was used.”
“We’ve determined it was intentionally set,” Alston said. The department doesn’t know who set the fire. It has turned the matter over to the police to launch a criminal investigation.
According to the city’s online building permit database, the building’s owner, an affiliate of local large-scale landlord Ocean Management, pulled a permit on Feb. 11 to remove the building’s burned roof and third floor. The permit cost $770, and the estimated cost of demolition is $25,000.
The Ocean affiliate purchased the historic and long-vacant building for $1.2 million in November 2019 after a previous New York-based landlord failed to follow through on plans to convert the building into 13 apartments.
In December, the building’s top floor caught on fire, an incident that is still being investigated by the city’s fire department.
Melissa Saint, who represents Ocean Management, told the New Haven Register’s Mary O’Leary that the company is removing the roof, third floor, and front exterior staircase, while it draws up plans to continue with its approved renovation.
I hope they renovate it to look exactly the same on the outside as it did when it was originally built, while changing the inside to accommodate more apartments. who wouldn't love to live in such a pretty building in a nice 1 or 2 bedroom unit inside? It would be a tragedy if they tear it down or change the outside, as has happened so many other historic New Haven properties. The city needs to preserve the unique character of the historic properties that make it beautiful. Part of what makes a city desirable is the beauty of its buildings.