Officials can’t say definitively whether a box truck fire Sunday in Derby is connected to several brush fires that were set Sunday night along Derby-Milford Road in Orange.
But dogs trained to sniff out accelerants for the state fire marshal’s office were in both Derby and Orange as part of an investigation.
The fires Sunday happened within the same general time period. The brush fires are the latest in a series that have been set along busy roads stretching from Stratford to Oxford.
The Valley Indy first reported on the arson fires in November.
If the box truck is arson and is connected, it marks the first time the arson fires have resulted in personal property damage locally.
The state’s fire marshal office is assisting in an investigation that involves local fire marshals and police.
The truck fire was reported Sunday at 6:54 p.m. at 126 Derby Ave. inside a “1 800 Mr. Junker” vehicle owned by Pat Civitella.
The truck was parked about a foot away from a building that houses Civitella Associates and an apartment.
Firefighters arrived to see flames coming from the back of the truck. The fire had just started to spread to the building, but Derby firefighters had the flames extinguished by 7:04 p.m.
Fire Marshal Phil Hawks compared the truck to a U‑Haul moving truck. There wasn’t much in it other than brooms and a plastic bin. Plywood lined the interior walls.
The fire started inside the truck — but precisely how it started remains under investigation.
“At this point and time it is undetermined as to what caused the fire,” Hawks said Monday morning. “I didn’t see anything with the electrical wiring that caused the fire.”
About 10 to 15 minutes before the box truck fire in Derby, a brush fire had been reported in Orange.
More brush fires were reported along Derby-Milford Road in Orange just over the Derby border while Derby fighters were still at the Derby Avenue blaze, Hawks said.
The location of the Derby Avenue fire is three miles from Derby-Milford Road in Orange.
Orange Fire Marshal Timothy Smith confirmed there were “several” brush fires along Derby-Milford Road. The cause and origin are under investigation.
Smith said he couldn’t elaborate because it is an open investigation.
Orange Police Department Assistant Chief Anthony Cuozzo Sr. told the Valley Indy Tuesday morning that police assume Sunday’s brush fires along Derby-Milford Road are connected to the rash of fires his town has been experiencing.
Cuozzo estimated there have been about a dozen fires — at least — in Orange in the last few months.
Police have little to go on at this point, such as a description of a vehicle.
“We have nothing,” Cuozzo said. “It’s somewhat frustrating.”
Orange police are holding regular briefings on the fires and the fire marshal’s office is working closely with the state fire marshal’s office.
Hawks said it is not clear whether Derby’s truck fire Sunday is connected to the brush fires in nearby Orange.
“We don’t know. That’s why it’s under investigation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Civitella said police told him it looks like the box truck fire in Derby was intentionally set. A dog examined the scene but couldn’t tell whether an accelerant was used to start the blaze.
Police are checking out security cameras along Derby Avenue to see if the devices will yield images to help the investigation.
A tenant was home in the apartment when the fire was reported, Civitella said.
Firefighters were on the scene within minutes — but the response time could have been longer had the fire occurred in the middle of the night, Hawks said.
Derby Fire Department Chief Thomas Lenart Jr. said East End Hose Co. No. 3 was first on the scene on Derby Avenue and prevented the fire from spreading to the building.
The number of intentionally set fires in the region is troubling, regardless of whether the box truck fire is linked.
“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Lenart said.
Nine brush fires were reported in Derby and Oxford along Route 34 on Jan. 7.
Shelton had about 12 brush fires between November and December.
State police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the party of parties responsible.
In a press release Jan. 14, state police said the fires started in October.
The fires were concentrated along “Route 1 to Route 34 in Orange, and along Route 34 from Orange to Oxford and Route 110 from Shelton to Monroe. Several fires have occurred in the area of Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford,” according to the state police press release.
Anyone with information should call their local police department or the Connecticut Arson Tip Hotline at 800 – 84-ARSON or (800) 842‑7766.