North Providence Farm House That Burned Has Since Been Demolished

NORTH PROVIDENCE — An old farm house that was set on fire before dawn on March 22 is no more and has been demolished. The house was part of the city-owned former Colletti farm property on Hamlin Street, and the house burned down nearly three weeks ago. On Friday, all that remained was a carpet of rubble in front of a barn.

Four young males are now charged with second-degree arson and misdemeanor conspiracy after they allegedly set fire to the abandoned house on Hamlin Street while smoking. Three are juveniles. The fourth is Alexander E. Nicol, 19, of 1 Lori Drive.

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On March 22 at around 4 a.m., crews responded to reports of a fire at the property. When they arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames. Because the house was not connected to utilities the fire was deemed suspicious, Colonel Arthur J. Martins, the North Providence police chief, said in a release.

Detective Matthew Phelan investigated the case. He found surveillance video that captured a suspicious vehicle in the area at the time of the fire. He also followed up on a tip about two suspects reportedly “bragging” about setting the fire. Phelan then found two additional suspects. His investigation determined that the vehicle captured on camera was associated with one of the suspects. Phelan interviewed the four and established probably cause for the charges, Martins wrote.

Police allege that the four were smoking in the abandoned building, a discarded match ignited some flammable materials, and that the suspects fled the scene.

The 2nd-degree arson charge in Rhode Island is reserved for situations where an abandoned building burns. A conviction can carry a two to 25-year prison term.

Nicol was arrested on March 31 and released on $10,000 personal recognizance. The juveniles were arrested March 31, April 1 and April 2. Each were released with dates to appear in Family Court. Officer Christian Orellana provided information that proved to be vital to the case, Martins wrote.

The Hamlin Street property was purchased by the city two years ago with plans to demolish the structure and develop the land into a park and recreation area, Mayor Charles Lombardi previously told The Valley Breeze. A deal on the property was on the town council agenda in January of 2019.

The arson fire occurred on the same night that a separate residential fire at Rosemont Terrace sent one person to the hospital and left six pets dead.