Suspicious Fire Consumes City Building, Italian Club

The city DPW building after the blaze. Photo by Jimmy Morse of JimmyMorse.com.

Story Updated 5:36PM, Saturday, March 21, 2009

– Allison Goldsberry

An early morning fire has destroyed a city building containing the Water Department and the Italian American Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8.

According to ITAM club member and Medford resident Frankie Imbergamo, officials said the fire was intentionally set and broke out around 3AM in the water department on the first floor. Everything inside the building is gone and only the burnt exterior remains.

Initial reports indicate a break-in at the building followed by the fire. A city-owned vehicle and trailer with a compressor were stolen.

Imbergamo, speaking from near the scene, said police and fire were on-scene for hours and stopped dousing out the fire around 1PM.  He said they appeared to have been spraying water into the second-floor kitchen of the club.

The club was housed in a city building at 52 Swan Street, in behind Mystic Avenue.

Imbergamo, a four-year member who often cooks dinner for the group, said the club recently sank lots of money into renovating its space, including new flooring, big screen TV’s, pool tables, and a new stove.

“What a sin.  We put a lot of work into it,” said Imbergamo.

No one is believed to have been injured in the blaze.  The building is closed at night.

The fire is under investigation by the Medford Police and State Fire Marshal.  Anyone with information is urged to contact the Medford Police.