“When you light a house on fire, you remember the date.”
Those were the words of admitted arsonist Cameron Cirisoli, 20, of Ansonia, a former volunteer firefighter now serving a six-month sentence at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution in Enfield.
Cirisoli uttered the sentence inside the Derby Police Department Sept. 2, 2008, just moments after Det. Robert Donahue showed him evidence from a fire Cirisoli helped start six months earlier at a newly constructed, vacant house on Frank Gates Lane.
According to court documents, Cirisoli, with the permission of police, then walked outside the department on Water Street, grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his vehicle, came back in — and, in great detail, admitted his part in a string of arson fires in Ansonia and Derby between January and March of 2008.
On Wednesday, his long-time friend, co-worker, fellow volunteer firefighter — and partner in crime — Eddie Jones, 21, of Ansonia, was sentenced to nine months in jail and five years probation for his part in the fires.
Jones must also pay $11,041 in restitution.
An unnamed 17-year-old was also involved in some of the fires, according to court records.
Derby Arson Fires Click the icons below to read about the fires.
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Series of Fires
According to documents on file in Derby court, by March 2008, police and city Fire Marshal Phil Hawks suspected arson in a series of brush fires and container fires that were flaring up all over town.
No one was injured in any of the incidents — but the increasing frequency had cops on the edge.
Fire spots included a field behind the pavilion at Osbornedale State Park, a clothing bin at Valley Bowl, a Dumpster at the Commodore Commons Condominiums, a stack of wooden pallets on Caroline Street — and two fires at the Little League field on Nutmeg Avenue.
“These fires had been increasing in frequency and severity,” Donahue said in court documents, “starting as brush fires, then Dumpsters, vehicles and now dwellings.”
Trail In The Snow
The most serious occurred March 2, when the duo set a vacant, brand new, just-on-the-market house on fire on Frank Gates Lane.
Hawks quickly determined it was arson, according to court docs, and called police.
There was snow on the ground — and fresh foot prints. Police followed the trail to the nearby Hotchkiss Hose Co., Derby’s oldest, continuously operating fire company.
From there, the case against Cirisoli, Jones and the teen started to fall into place.
Clues
Immediately after the March 2 house fire, Det. Charles Stankye, also a volunteer firefighter, saw two men wearing fire gear and running with equipment from behind Hotchkiss Hose.
One of the men was Cirisoli.
Police then checked the records of the automated key system at Hotchkiss Hose. Each firefighter had their own code to get in.
Investigators compared the records to the time of the arson fires.
The information showed Cirisoli and Jones consistently reporting to the fire house just minutes before calls came in reporting the fires.
In April 2008, police then met with the teen, who said he was present when Cirisoli and Jones set fire to a pile of leaves in the area of Silver Hill Road near the Ansonia-Derby border.
Police then called Cirisoli in for an interview in September 2008, where they showed him a “fire starter” recovered from a house fire, along with the burnt vinyl siding the “fire starter” was found under.
Police read Cirisoli his rights, then opened a door and said he was free to leave.
Instead, Cirisoli came clean, admitted his role and implicated Jones.
In the three month stretch of fires, they spoke in code if one member of the group felt like torching something.
“It’s getting cold out,” one would say.
“Yeah, it is,” meant it was time to start a fire, according to court documents.
Why?
Court documents don’t provide a definitive answer to the question of “Why?”
Cirisoli apologized profusely before he was sentenced to jail, the New Haven Register reported.
In his confession to police, one could infer, possibly, that the string of fires was youthful stupidity.
“I am very sorry and remorseful and cannot understand why I did it. There is no excuse for what I have done. I just don’t know why we did something so stupid and reckless,” Cirisoli said.
