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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 Feb 24 - Cape Cod Times ArticleTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 Cape inn fire remains mysterious By PATRICK CASSIDY pcassidy@capecodonline.com WEST YARMOUTH - State and local officials are looking for the public's help in deter- mining the origin of a Decem- ber fire that destroyed the Red Rose Inn on New Hampshire Avenue. Although investigators have not determined a cause for the fire, they are reiterating a request that anyone with infor- mation about the blaze call the state fire marshal's arson hotline. "Nothing has been ruled in, nothing has been ruled out," said Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan. Nothing should be read into the use of the arson hotline, Yarmouth Fire Chief Michael Walker said. "It's fairly standard when you have an undetermined fire,"he said. Fire investigators will meet again in the next few weeks to discuss the Dec. 12 fire that ravaged the 1800s-era building, Walker said. Nobody was injured in the fire, but several .Cape fire departments were called in to help fight the wind -whipped flames. Immediately after the fire, investigators focused on a front guest room that was being used as storage. The burned -out structure has since been torn down, leaving a rubble -filled lot and opening up a view of Lewis Bay and Great Island for neighbors and pass- ers-by. The property's owners have spoken with town officials about rebuilding, the inn's man- aging partner, Robert Galligan, said Wednesday. Although the Times' archives place the build- ing's construction in the 1880s, Galligan said it was originally built in 1841. "The town is allowing us to (re)build within certain guide- lines," Galligan said, adding that the inn's owners want to stay in business on Cape Cod. "We love the spot." If rebuilt, the outside of the inn would likely be much the same as it was, but the inside would be improved, Galligan said. There is no estimate for how much reconstruction of the building would cost, he said. There is a provision in the town's zoning bylaw that per- mits preexisting nonconforming structures such as the inn to be reconstructed at the same size and for the same use if damaged by fire or a storm, Yarmouth Building Commissioner James Brandolini said. Neighbors and visitors to a town -owned beach parking lot next -door to the inn's former location had mixed feelings about its reconstruction. Tim Meaney of Springfield owns a cottage a short distance from the Red Rose Inn property and said he enjoyed visiting the inn. But his wife had a different opinion. "I think it would do the whole area well to turn it into a big beach,"Laurie Meaney said. Janet Durkin, who is building a new home in place of her fam- ily's former summer cottage on nearby Lewis Bay Boulevard, said she would like to see a park on the property. "It makes my view real pretty," she said of the vista opened up by the building's demolition. Kimberley Luke of Plymouth, who sat in her car Wednesday STEVE HEASLIP/CAPE COD TIMES FILE Firefighters battle the blaze at the Red Rose Inn in December. Officials suspect the fire began in a guest room being used for storage and quickly spread. at the parking area for town - owned Englewood Beach next to the property, said she would prefer to have the inn rebuilt. "I kind of miss it,"she said of the building, adding that she works on Cape Cod and often comes to the beach for lunch. Tbwn officials have previously eyed the property for open space, said Erik Tolley, chairman of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen. Tolley, who has done architec- tural work on the building in the past, said he would support the town buying the property if the A vacant lot is all that's left of the Red Rose Inn in West Yarmouth. A fire destroyed the building in December, but Investigators still aren't sure what caused the blaze. CHRISTINE HOCHKEPPEL CAPE COD TIMES ARSON HOTLINE ■ 800-682-9229 community preservation com- mittee decided it was a good idea. "I think it would be a nice complement to the properties adjacent to it that we already own,"he said. The community rreservation committee has finalized pur- chases for this year that will go before residents at annual town meeting in April,Tblley said. The Red Rose Inn building was originally the guest quar- ters of a family compound, according to the Times archives. It was restyled as a bed -and - breakfast in 1948. The building was sold in 2004 to Ruth Donaruma and her daughter Cathy Cassanos for $1.2 million. Last March, after being fore- closed on, the property was sold to a group of developers for $690,000, according toYarmouth town records. The 45-seat restaurant and 10-bedroom inn was renovated and put up for sale again at $995,000, according to a June 2010711mes article.