By Katie Warchut
Published on 9/20/2008
Groton- The state's attorney's office this week requested that the town hold off issuing a demolition permit for the burned shell of the historic house at 23 Library St. because of its status at the center of an arson case.
The office wants to ensure the defense counsel in the case against probationary volunteer firefighter William Celtruda has had the opportunity to obtain inspections or testing of the remains of the structure.
The vacant house had already been considered an eyesore in the neighborhood, as it underwent renovations for more than a dozen years until it was destroyed July 25 by a fire that Celtruda, formerly of the Mystic Fire Department, is accused of setting.
The town considers the burned-out building unsafe and in danger of failure or collapse. It is working with owner Gretchen Chipperini to tear down the structure.
The town is therefore asking the office of the state's attorney to seek a court order to force the defense counsel to obtain any inspections or testing as soon as possible.
”Obviously we want to try to accommodate (any request for inspection), but time is of the essence,” Groton Town Manager Mark R. Oefinger said Friday.
According to the demolition order, Chipperini had to apply for a demolition permit by Aug. 19. She then had to begin demolition within 30 calendar days of the issuance of the permit, and, once demolition began, she had 30 days to complete it.
In the March 2007 arson fire at 29 S. Washington St. in Crescent Beach, Niantic, the state did not release the site to its owner until the following fall.
K.WARCHUT@THEDAY.COM