Arson destroys two local shops
Published on November 15th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - Two 17-year-old Stoneham boys are accused of vandalizing a church, torching a car, and starting a three-alarm fire which ruined a building and burned a firefighter.
James A. Legrow, 17, of 43 Washington St. in Stoneham and Gregory D. LeBlanc, 17, of 21 Spring Lane in Stoneham have been charged by Stoneham Police with burning a building, breaking and entering at nighttime with intent to commit a felony (arson), malicious destruction of property, burning of personal property, breaking and entering a car, malicious destruction of a car and theft from a car.
Everything happened early Saturday morning, Nov. 11.
The boys allegedly tore down a sign at the All Saints' Episcopal Church at 79 Central St. at 3:19 a.m. Police caught them, took their names, and sent them home.
Then, according to Stoneham Police, the boys started a fire inside 256 Main St., space shared by Mario's Unisex Hair Salon and Stoneham Carpet Sales. The first of three alarms sounded at 4:41 a.m. after an attendant at the Main Street Mobile Station saw smoke and called Stoneham Fire.
Legrow and LeBlanc then allegedly set a Buick on fire in front of 18 Lindenwood Road at 6:11 a.m. while firefighters were battling the Main Street blaze.
"The car fire and the burning building were within direct view of each other," said Police Officer James McIntyre, a member of the Stoneham Fire Investigation Unit.
Stoneham Police Officer Steven Nims left the building fire and drove around the corner to the Lindenwood car fire. A witness, Nims said, saw two boys running away from the burning Buick. The witness described one of the boys, and Nims remembered seeing the boy an hour earlier in the same neighborhood.
Both boys were watching the Main Street fire when Nims brought his witness to the scene on a hunch. The witness identified the boys, and police took them in for questioning.
"They went voluntarily to the Fire Station," McIntyre said.
McIntyre added that he recognized the boys from the church vandalism.
After a cooperative interrogation by the State Fire Marshal's Office, Stoneham's Fire Investigation Unit and Stoneham Police Detectives, the boys were arrested.
The boys were arraigned in Woburn District Court Monday. LeBlanc made bail. Legrow went to Cambridge Jail.
Fighting the fire
To get into the burning building firefighters had to dodge live power lines which melted from the building before Boston Edison arrived to kill the power.
Stoneham Fire only had seven men on duty when the first alarm sounded. Chief Larry Lamey sounded the second alarm at 4:47 a.m. to request back-up.
"Seven men out the door translates into only two men into the building," said Firefighter Michael O'Sullivan of the Fire Investigation Unit.
The second and then third alarm at 5:04 a.m. brought Winchester, Reading and Woburn Fire to the scene with Wakefield and Medford Fire covering the Stoneham station.
Stoneham's Group One led by Lt. James McLaughlin were the first men to fight the fire. They arrived on Engine Four and Ladder One at 4:45 a.m. Firefighters were not recalled until 8:25 a.m.
Dragging out all the burning carpets took a lot of time and effort, O'Sullivan said.
Stoneham Firefighter Frank Gould got a dime-sized burn on his neck from embers that landed under his jacket collar. He was treated at the scene. No one else was injured.
The property damage in dollars hasn't been determined, but everything inside was destroyed.
How the suspects started the fire is under investigation.
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