It was a New Haven institution and landmark in the Westville neighborhood for decades. Then two years ago, it burned to the ground.
The fire that destroyed Delaney’s Tap Room started with a flickering of the lights.
“So we just ran downstairs, we thought it was a fuse or something and it was on fire,” remembers Delaney’s owner, Peter Gremse.
Gremse ran Delaney’s for 14 years, but two years ago, his dream went up in smoke. He claims the firefighting operation was mismanaged.
“The regular guys who ran into the building, they worked their butts off,” Gremse said. “They did their jobs, but I don’t think the men in charge were handling it correctly.” In the days and weeks after the fire, the city and the fire department looked into what happened.
“I think some of the weaknesses that we had found were some of the command structure and some of the command training, which was immediately taken under by the fire department,” explained Rick Fontana, Deputy Director of Emaergency Management for the City of New Haven.