``It's a case of arson,'' Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Terry Lewis said Wednesday. ``There was no electricity to the building or any other ignition source in there.''
The building's owner, Marc Wood of Sharon, has accused the Hartford fire chief of letting the building burn, rather than trying to save it. ``You don't let the fire burn the building down, and then spray water on it,'' said Wood, who acknowledged he was not at the scene during the fire.
``It's not a secret that the town wanted to get rid of that building,'' said Wood, who has been at odds with town officials for years over his plans to renovate and reopen the diner.
Fire Chief John Wood on Wednesday said he kept his firefighters at a distance from the burning building for safety reasons.
``That property, when we arrived on the scene, was not savable,'' the chief said. ``What we did was no different than any other fire department would've done. Why would I want to put my people in harm's way? There had already been two explosions. How do I know if there are going to be any other explosions?''
Chief Wood said the fire appeared to be suspicious from the start.
The fire produced a big, black cloud of smoke that rose high in the air, which was a strong indication the fast-moving fire was petroleum-fueled, he said.
``It was burning from front to back, left to right,'' he said of the diner that had been closed since 1995. ``It had all the indications of having accelerants in the building.''
Marc Wood said he holds the town responsible for the fire, and will try to get town officials to pay for a new building. ``I'll sit down and rationalize this with them. If I don't get anywhere, there's the court,'' he said.