Lake Avenue fires called unrelated
Fire marshal deems all 4 multi-alarm blazes ‘accidental’
DANBURY — A series of fires along a 2-mile stretch of Lake Avenue were accidental and unrelated, Danbury fire officials said Tuesday.
Four multiple-alarm blazes over the past three weeks have heavily damaged several businesses and apartments in the area where Lake Avenue meets the Interstate 84 and Route 7 interchange.
No one has been seriously injured in any of the fires, but one displaced a half-dozen families over Christmas and another led to the dramatic rescue of 86 puppies from the Puppy Love pet store.
“They’re not connected in any way that we’ve found,” provisional Fire Marshal John Osborne said. “They’ve all been accidental,
one way or another.”
The latest fire occurred late Monday when firefighters responded to Marcello’s Deli and Catering at 76 Lake Ave.
Crews saw a large amount of smoke billowing from the top of the standalone building and found what officials called a “stubborn” fire in the attic, according to fire department spokesman James Gagliardo.
Firefighters battled below-freezing temperatures during the hourslong fight to control the three-alarm fire and Danbury Public Works were called to help counteract the icy conditions surrounding the building.
The cause of that fire remains under investigation but officials believe it was accidental. Attempts to reach the owners of the deli were unsuccessful Tuesday.
This fire follows one that threatened Puppy Love on Jan. 3, less than a mile west of the deli on Lake Avenue Extension, and a pair of fires the night of Dec. 23 that damaged several apartments on Bells Place, less than a mile east of the deli, and the China Wall restaurant almost directly across the street from Marcello’s.
“When I was driving there (to the deli) last night, I thought, ‘Boy, this is a coincidence,’ ” Osborne said Tuesday. “But there’s no connection and each is believed to be accidental.”
At China Wall, investigators have determined that fire was caused by buildup in the kitchen’s vent hood system that ignited, Osborne said. One restaurant owner was treated for minor burns after the incident.
The fire behind Puppy Love consumed a metal pole barn used as storage for Danbury Power Sports and could have burned down the pet store if not for the actions of two firefighters to hold shut a fire door — melting the arm of one firefighter’s jacket — while more than 150 good Samaritans helped pull the store’s 86 puppies to safety.
Fire marshals believe that fire also was accidental but it remains under investigation.