Blaze leaves vacant Fort Trumbull building with gaping hole in roof
New London — Flames consumed two of three floors in a vacant Fort Trumbull building Tuesday night, forcing firefighters to work from the outside and leaving a gaping hole in its roof.
Fire Marshal Vernon Skau said it wasn't yet clear if the 11 p.m. blaze at 95 Trumbull St. is suspicious. Inspectors haven't been able to get inside the 1853 industrial brick building, which is structurally unsafe.
A structural engineer had been alerted but hadn't made it to the scene as of Wednesday evening and wasn't expected until Thursday. Fire Chief Tom Curcio said fire inspectors would secure the scene until 3 p.m., when police would replace them. If necessary, the fire marshal's office would take back over Thursday morning, he said.
Skau said no one was injured in the blaze, which took about an hour to put out. The flames didn't spread to the northern section of the building, which sits just off the Thames River. The building, he noted, already was deteriorating before the fire.
Records show Bill Cornish, a landlord and board member of New London's Renaissance City Development Association, bought the building under the name of Copperwood LLC in July 2017.
Curcio said city police, the Naval Submarine Base FAST, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital medics, Groton Ambulance and Poquonnock Bridge firefighters were on scene. Additionally, Groton Long Point fire sent a boat, the Salvation Army brought its canteen and Waterford firefighters stood by, should another incident have happened in New London.
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