Thomas Breen photo
Where once was warehouse, now stands rubble.
A fenced-off pile of bricks, wood, metal, and other debris now stands beneath the open sky at the site of a partially demolished, fire-ravaged Fair Haven warehouse.
That industrial-building wreckage is located at 36 River St. near Ferry Street.
On Oct. 30, a four-alarm fire ripped through the property, bringing out more than 100 firefighters from New Haven and surrounding towns to put out a blaze exacerbated by exploding vehicle gas tanks. Miraculously enough, no one was injured; the city’s assistant fire chief told the Independent at the time that two people exited the building at around when the firefighters showed up, soon after 6:45 a.m.
Later on the same day of the fire, city Building Official Robert Dillon issued an unsafe notice and order to demolish to the property’s owner, a holding company controlled by Ralph Mauro of the Fair Haven building firm Concrete Creations.
That order states that, on Oct. 30, Deputy Building Inspector Frank Bellonio inspected the property and found that, “due to fire damage this building poses an imminent threat” per Section 117.1 of the state building code. The notice orders the property owner to “immediately” demolish and remove the fire-damaged building by a licensed state demolition contractor, or face a potential fine of between $200 and $1,000.
Mauro could not be reached for comment by the publication time of this article.
On Thursday afternoon, Henry Stormer of the fire investigation firm Vertex told the Independent that he is still investigating the blaze.
Stormer’s business card was posted to the chainlink fence in front of the partially demolished building on Thursday. It was stapled to a yellow piece of paper with the word “EVIDENCE” written in bold and all caps at the top and the word “VERTEX” at the bottom. “This location is the area of an active fire scene investigation of [sp.] behalf of the Building owner insurance company, for the insured located at 36 River St.,” that page reads. It states that no one should disturb the fire area and debris.
Stormer confirmed for the Independent that his firm represents the insurance company. He said he’s been to the River Street site twice, and declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation.
“The fire is just so devastating,” he added. And “without security footage or an eye witness,” it’s hard to tell exactly at this time what happened.
He confirmed that there was an auto repair shop at the property at the time of the fire. He said that the parts of cars that typically explode are “high-pressure” components like shock absorbers and steering columns.
Stormer stressed that it’s too early to tell, and his firm does not know what caused the fire. Fires like this can be caused by a range of sources. “We have no idea who may have had vehicle rags, lithium ion batteries, appliances plugged in, rodents chewing on wiring,” or was anybody living there who shouldn’t have been? he asked. He really doesn’t know.
What’s next for his investigation? “I am awaiting direction from my clients,” he said.
Stormer, who is based out of Southbury but travels all across the country for his work, said he investigates roughly five to ten fires in New Haven each year.
In a separate interview Thursday, city Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Coughlin confirmed that the city’s fire department is still investigating the blaze.
Scenes from 36 River on Thursday.
The Oct. 30 fire, as photographed by Allhandsworking and posted to X.