Firefighters Battle Labor Day Blaze

(Updated) As flames consumed three stores in a historic waterfront neighborhood, firefighters decided to play defense — and saved a 140-year-old building.

The dramatic battle took place early Labor Day morning on the banks of the Quinnipiac River, just east of the Grand Avenue Bridge.

The three-alarm fire started in the basement of 16 East Grand Ave., at the offices of Quinnipiac River View Properties LLC, a company that manages 32 Fair Haven Heights properties owned by developer Joel Schiavone. Three Schiavone storefronts at 14, 16 and 22 East Grand Ave. were severely damaged and will have to be demolished today, city officials said.

The city’s arson squad is investigating the fire. An accelerant-sniffing dog found nothing suspicious, Fire Marshal Joe Cappucci said.

Showing up in force on a holiday, firefighters kept the flames from spreading to a historic brick building next door at 28 East Grand Ave. The building was built in 1870. It is home to a wine shop and seven families and many dogs and cats.

Tenant Mark Douglas said he was alerted to the fire by his two dogs, Jupiter and Mars (left to right in photo). Jupiter, a black lab, started barking shortly after 6 o’clock. Douglas looked out the window and saw smoke next door. At about 6:15, he made a run through the house, alerting the neighbors to the fire.

Everyone got out safely. There were no major injuries reported. Two firefighters were treated and released from the hospital, for smoke inhalation and exhaustion.

As Douglas left the house, firefighters were rushing to the scene from all parts of the city. They learned of the blaze at 6:10 a.m., when a man and a woman knocked on the door of the fire station on East Grand Avenue. The couple reported a fire at the Lincoln Flower Shop at 22 East Grand Ave.

Smoke soon billowed out of the wooden buildings, high above the placid river.

The fire made quick, stealthy progress, said Fire Chief Michael Grant. Flames started in the basement of the property management offices and spread to the flower shop on one side, and the vacant home of the former Bare Beans coffee shop (pictured) on the other side.

A total of 55 firefighters showed up to battle the flames, employing seven engines, two squads, and three ladders, Grant said. That’s over 70 percent of the city’s on-duty fire force. East and West Haven firefighters filled in at city firehouses while New Haven’s bravest went to the call.

At first, firefighters played offense, Grant said. But the maze-like structure of the building allowed the flames to hide from their attacks. The three stores sit in one building that’s about 100 years old. Several interior renovations left behind multiple roofs and ceilings — ​“all for the fire to hide and be concealed.”

Quelling the flames proved to be ​“very labor intensive,” said Grant, whose coat dripped with water as he spoke to reporters beside the smoldering building around 10 a.m. The fire had ​“many channels to travel through,” he said.

Flames were first contained in the building. Then they leaped up through the roof.

After a half-hour of offense, firefighters changed strategy to a defensive mode. They poured water on the brick building next door, as a precaution to save the apartments that are home to Douglas, Jupiter and Mars.

Ben Tortora looked on nervously. He owns the Grand Vin wine shop in that building. It’s been there for five years. He got a call Monday morning about the fire. He rushed over from Guilford.

“All I could think of was how long I worked to get here, and it could be gone in one day,” Tortora said.

Luckily for him, the firefighters’ defensive strategy prevailed: They kept the flames from spreading to his shop and to the seven apartments above and below him. By 10 a.m., the fire was under control.

Tortora (pictured) walked over to his store after the smoke and flames subsided, around 10:30 a.m. He said he was still concerned that the water may have damaged thousands of dollars of merchandise inside.

The wine store sits in a stretch of commercial buildings owned by Schiavone. The developer announced a grand vision three years ago to revitalize the Quinnipiac River Village near the bridge, but those plans have yet to take off.

City building chief Andy Rizzo said that the building at 14 – 22 E. Grand Ave. will be demolished after firefighters put out the last smoldering remains of the fire. The building is structurally unsound because the roof caved in, he said.

“I’ve got to get this down as soon as possible,” Rizzo said.

Before he did, Michael Daniele (pictured) was trying to get inside. He owns the Lincoln Flower Shop, which does flower arrangements and also sells antique furniture. The shop has been around for over 100 years. Daniele took it over in 1991, and moved it to East Grand Avenue from Atwater Street in 1993.

Most of Daniele’s floral arrangements are for funerals, he said. He had planned to stop by Monday and pick up some arrangements to send to a funeral in East Haven. Instead, he ended up watching a funeral of his own.

“No fucking roses today,” remarked a friend.

“Yeah, I’m screwed,” replied Daniele.

As firefighters plucked planks off the facade in search of concealed flames, Daniele leaned on a railing nearby. He held an envelope of money that firefighters had rescued from inside.

Next, he had his eye on some relics — watercolor paintings done 40 years ago, based on historical photos of Fair Haven. The paintings show the Grand Avenue Bridge and the Pilgrim Church, he said. They were hanging in the store, plainly visible behind the shattered windows and the water dripping from above. Daniele said if nothing else is salvageable, he at least wanted the paintings.

“I’m going to get in,” he said. ​“That’s all I want.”