Jan. 19--A local contractor, who worked with the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to help build a needy Voluntown family a brand new home, confessed to police that he attempted to burn down his Norwich wood pellet business on two separate occasions, according to a warrant in the case.
Bruce "Bruno" Hayn, 54, of 31 Sashel Lane, Colchester, was charged with first-degree arson, criminal attempt to commit first-degree arson, insurance fraud and second-degree giving a false statement.
On Oct. 27, five local fire departments responded to a blaze at Shur Fire on West Main Street. The fire caused extensive damage to the building and to the contents inside.
At the fire scene, police said Hayn told investigators that on the night of the fire he was alone at the business when he closed up for the evening. He said he was operating a forklift and placed a pallet of wood pellets in front of a short wall with electrical panels. He said the building was having previous "electrical issues such as popping breakers but he had no idea what may have started the fire."
The fire was initially determined to be accidental, the result of an electrical abnormality in an electrical box, where Hayn was operating the forklift.
However, a video surveillance obtained by Hayn's insurance company, the Travelers, found that Hayn allegedly attempted to light fires on the day before and the night of the fire, the warrant said. The insurance company also found that the electrical box thought to have contributed to the fire was not electrically charged and therefore could not have started the fire.
The surveillance video shows that on Oct. 26 Hayn could be seen twisting paper towels and walking toward the place of origin, where the fire was eventually set, the warrant said. Smoke and particulate matter became visible on the video.
The next day, Hayn is alone in the business and is captured on video again with paper towels walking towards the place of origin. Hayn is seen leaving and returning to the business two separate times. On the second trip, Hayn is seen operating a forklift and the fire intensifies.
Police interviewed Hayn again on Jan. 4. He said on Oct. 26, he was operating a forklift when he accidentally backed into an electrical panel. He heard a crackle and saw smoke coming from the panel. A while later he grabbed paper towels and placed them into the electrical panel to see if the "panel was hot." The panel caught fire. He said he added more paper towels to the panel, the warrant said.
But Hayn told police he had a change of heart and "stomped out" the burning paper towels. He left the building for the evening.
The next day, the night of the fire, Hayn said he walked over to the electrical panel and lit the paper towels on fire "thinking it would be considered an electrical fire." He then got into the forklift and drove a pallet of wood pellets closer to the fire, but when he moved the pallet the fire "petered out."
Hayn said he added more paper towels to the fire, the warrant said.
"Hayn stated he thought the fire 'would have just caused a little bit of damage and be enough to make me shut down,'" the warrant said. "He stated after the fire, 'I have wanted to move forward.'"
Hayn said his losses as a result of the fire were $600,000. He collected $25,000 from the Travelers insurance company as a result of his filing claims.
Hayn was released on a $100,000 bond. He will be arraigned Jan. 26 at Norwich Superior Court.
Hayn, president of Home Designs by Bruno, led thousands of volunteers in building the Girard family a new home in 2008. The family had lost husband and father Thomas Girard and eldest son Marc in a drowning accident at Green Falls Pond.
Hayn also helped the Landa family rebuild their Griswold home when it was destroyed in a fire in the summer of 2009. Kyle Landa was injured in the fire while saving his quadriplegic father from the burning home.
In 2009, Hayn was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Builders Association of Eastern Connecticut as well as the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership award.
A local contractor, who worked with the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to help build a needy Voluntown family a brand new home, confessed to police that he attempted to burn down his Norwich wood pellet business on two separate occasions, according to a warrant in the case.
Copyright 2012 - The Day, New London, Conn.
