Da’nay McBride strolled down Seaview Avenue recently, past the site of the September 2014 fire that destroyed a warehouse and threatened surrounding homes like hers.
Federal contractors are still busy hauling away the remnants of metal drums of chemicals that tenant Rowayton Trading company had stored there.
Some of those 55-gallon containers exploded the night of the fire, adding to the confusion that drew firefighters from Bridgeport, Fairfield and Stratford, as well as state and federal environmental agencies.
But once the smoke cleared, the firefighters were widely praised for keeping the fire contained to the warehouse, with no loss of life or surrounding homes.
“They did pretty good,” McBride said. The warehouse’s owner, 25 Grant Street LLC, has a different view, as it seeks to recover millions of dollars in losses.
Grant Street — owned by Ronald and Leon Barnaby — has filed a notice of intent to sue the city. The company maintains Bridgeport’s emergency responders made the fire worse because they were in the dark about what was stored on site. The notice names the city’s fire chief, fire marshal, emergency management chief and all first responders acting in a supervisory capacity as targets of the coming suit.