Demolition begins at burned historic house

Mystic - More than a year after it was charred and destroyed by an arsonist and a week before its owner is set to be taken to trial, the historic house at 23 Library St. is coming down.

For more than a year, the town had been pressing owner Gretchen Chipperini to tear down her home for safety reasons. Since July 2008, a charred skeleton was all that remained of the once historic home.

Even before it was set ablaze, neighbors complained that the on and off renovations at the unoccupied and unkempt home were taking too long.

But this week a special demolition crew began busting apart the blackened remains of the home.

On Wednesday, an excavator grabbed pieces of the home and lifted them into a nearly filled dumpster. The sounds of shattering glass and splitting wood rose above the cars that passed by on adjacent Route 1.

A contractor hired by Chipperini and working on the home Wednesday declined to give his name, but said the crew began working four days ago and expected to be done in a week or two.

The crew had walked through the home before they began the demolition and tried to salvage what they could, including pieces of patterned hardwood floor. The crew also removed the cupola from the top of the home Tuesday.

Messages left for Chipperini Wednesday night were not returned.

The trial involving Chipperini and Groton town is set to begin Oct. 29. The town claimed the house was no longer structurally sound and was trying to force Chipperini to tear it down or execute a demolition order.

Earlier this year, Chipperini sued the Mystic Fire District and its various members, along with the towns of Groton and Stonington after a probationary volunteer firefighter confessed to setting the house on fire.

Town officials had heard of possible progress on demolition of the house in the past week or so, Mayor Harry Watson said, though he added that the town had heard such claims before.

"The extent of what's happening here I'm not sure of," he said, but his initial reaction was "Hallelujiah."

Watson could not elaborate, due to the ongoing litigation between the town and Chipperini.

- Staff writer Katie Warchut contributed to this report.