Official says arson possible in blaze that destroyed barbershop
NORWALK — Arson could be behind a blaze that destroyed a barbershop that was scheduled to open in January, according to fire officials.
Dale Roos, a fire inspector for the Norwalk Fire Department, said investigators have not ruled out foul play as a possible cause to the fire that destroyed the inside of 108 Connecticut Ave. around 1 a.m. Sunday.
“Everything is still completely under investigation,” Roos said Monday.
The building, a onestory, former liquor store, was in the final stages of renovation as a barbershop.
While Roos said the building is believed to be structurally sound, its interior and everything that had been inside were a complete loss.
No one was injured in the fire. The building is owned by a limited liability company controlled by the Patel family. They bought the building in 2005 for
$420,000 and ran Norwalk Wine & Spirits there before moving the package store a short distance up Connecticut Avenue where it remains in business today.
The city of Norwalk last ap
praised the 108 Connecticut Ave. structure at about $500,000, with the Patels having appealed the figure but no representative appeared last April at a scheduled hearing to make a case for a lower assessment for tax purposes. A listing for the building surfaced last July on the LoopNet commercial real estate website, with an
asking price of $750,000.
Owner Manish Patel could not be reached Monday for comment.
The fire is being investigated in a joint effort between Connecticut State Police, Norwalk Police and the Norwalk Fire Department.
Roos said they usually call the state police in cases like this one.
“Whenever there’s a commer
cial structure, because there’s a large dollar loss, we always like to give them a call and keep them in the loop,” he said.
The fire was first reported by someone passing by who noticed smoke coming from the building.
The blaze did not reach any of the surrounding buildings, but firefighters positioned trucks
near a commercial warehouse that abuts the building as a precaution, officials said.
Police closed off one block of Connecticut Avenue while firefighters extinguished the blaze. They reopened the road about an hour later.