GREAT BARRINGTON — The co-owner of the former Wonderful Things store has been arrested and charged in connection with a fire that damaged the building and brought a response from at least five area fire departments.
Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti said in a news release this morning that East Street resident Harry Sano, 85, was arrested last night on charges stemming from the July 7 blaze at the yellow Stockbridge Road building that housed the former gift and yarn shop, as well as four vacant upstairs apartments.
The building has a history of code violations and other problems, including a malfunctioning furnace in 2017 that sent five tenants to the hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. The building had been empty since the last of the tenants had vacated the premises more than a month ago.
Sano was charged with arson of a dwelling house, presenting a false insurance claim, and burning a building to defraud an insurer. Storti said the arrest came as part of a joint investigation by the Great Barrington Police Department, the Great Barrington Fire Department, and members of the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.
“Though the building was vacant, the act of setting fire to any structure poses a life and safety hazard to civilians and firefighters alike,” said Storti. “I’d like to thank the investigative team for working so hard to identify the facts and circumstances surrounding what we allege was a deliberately-set fire.”
On July 8, the day after the fire, the Great Barrington Board of Health voted unanimously to condemn the structure. Sano’s wife Deb told the board the building had been cleaned out by the middle of June, though health officials say the Sanos still have active complaints against them in housing court. Even after the fire, a cockroach infestation persisted, health agent Rebecca Jurczyk said.
The Sanos also told the health board they had found a buyer for the building who wished to demolish it, which, as Deb Sano told the health board, “is the way it was supposed to have been.”
“Great Barrington firefighters battled heavy smoke coming from every area of the structure and flames in the basement, first floor, and second floor,” said Great Barrington Fire Chief Charlie Burger. “With mutual aid companies from Sheffield and Monterey, they did an outstanding job of preventing the fire from spreading to other nearby buildings and minimizing damage to the building itself.”
In addition to Sheffield and Monterey, Southern Berkshire Ambulance and the Support Group provided rehab on scene. Additional fire calls in town were covered by Stockbridge, Sheffield, and Egremont fire departments.
Storti said Massachusetts has been using the team concept of fire investigation since the 1980s. Specially trained State Police officers, assigned to the state fire marshal, work collaboratively with other State Police units, local fire and police department investigators, and other agencies to identify the cause of fires where they are not immediately clear or where a violation of the law — such as arson — may exist.
“Arson is an extremely serious offense and we investigate it as such,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. “Fire doesn’t do what it’s told – it can burn faster and spread further than expected, claiming life and property without warning.”
Ostroskey urged anyone with information on an arson fire to share it with investigators or contact the Arson Watch Reward Program at 800-682-9229, though he did not say whether Sano’s arrest was the result of a tip supplied to authorities or to that program.
The Arson Watch Reward Program provides rewards of up to $5,000 for information that helps to solve arson crimes. It is sponsored privately by the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association and the Rhode Island Joint Reinsurance Association.
Harry Sano was booked and released by a bail clerk pending arraignment on Monday, July 26, Storti said.
