Photo Courtesy of Ansonia FD Assistant Chief Anthony DeLucia
The fire at 75 Liberty St. on Feb. 2.
ANSONIA – Police announced on Tuesday (March 12) that they had arrested three teenagers suspected of setting an abandoned industrial building ablaze.
According to police, the three suspects – a 14-year-old and two 13-year olds — were charged with first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit arson, and second-degree criminal trespass. Their names were not released, due to their age.
All three suspects admitted to being involved in the arson, according to the press release.
On Feb. 2, at about 4:50 p.m., firefighters were called to 75 Liberty Street to respond to a multi-alarm fire. The address is home to a former Ansonia Copper & Brass building that used to have a metallurgy lab in the basement.
By the time firefighters arrived on scene, flames were billowing out of three windows. Soon after they arrived, the roof collapsed. CT DEEP was called to the scene, as the building was considered to be one of the most contaminated Ansonia Copper & Brass sites.
In the weeks after, Ansonia police – in partnership with the Ansonia Fire Marshal and Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit – investigated the fire as an arson. Neighbors told police in interviews that they had seen people entering and exiting the building for months prior to the blaze, and that they saw two people enter just before the fire broke out.
Lt. Patrick Lynch told The Valley Indy last month that the multi-alarm blaze appeared to have been preceded by smaller fires. He said they looked as though they may have been set by juveniles.
The city has long had the abandoned, tax-delinquent property in their sights, and they moved to foreclose on it in 2022. That foreclosure is still in court.
Ansonia Fire Department Assistant Chief Anthony DeLucia, speaking just after the fire on Feb. 2, said it wasn’t a surprise that a fire broke out on the property.
“We knew it would happen someday,” he said at the time.
You can read the press release from the Ansonia Police Department below.
ANSONIA POLICE STATEMENT
On March 12, 2024, the Ansonia Police Department arrested three juveniles for their involvement in the arson fire on February 2, 2024, at the former Ansonia Copper and Brass building on Liberty Street. The three males were ages 13, 13 and 14, their names will not be released due to their juvenile status. Each juvenile was charged with Arson First Degree, Conspiracy to Commit Arson First Degree and Criminal Trespass Second Degree, they will appear in juvenile court on March 15, 2024.
The investigation into the arson was a joint effort between the Ansonia Police Department, Ansonia Fire Marshall, and Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit. Officer Michael Barry, Officer Joshua Rodrgiuez, and Detective Kristen Hunt of the Ansonia Police Department along with Ansonia Fire Marshall Darrick Lundeen, and Connecticut State Police Detectives Lindsey Dworin and Kyle Faucher were able to identify witnesses and the suspects, interviewing all of the identified individuals. During the interviews the juvenile suspects admitted to their involvement in the arson.
Chief Williams would like to recognize the members of the Ansonia Police Department, the Ansonia Fire Marshall and Connecticut State Police for their effort in investigating and solving this case.
