Former Norwood woman charged with Main Street apartment fire

Jan. 28--NORWOOD -- A monthlong investigation into an apartment fire at 14 S. Main St. on Dec. 23 has led to the arrest of the woman who lived there.

Village police announced Monday that they charged Rebecca L. Kelly, 44, currently of Barre Street, Ogdensburg, with the misdemeanors of fourth-degree criminal mischief and reckless endangerment of property.

Norwood Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the scene almost immediately after receiving the 9:45 p.m. call -- the fire station being directly across the street from the fire -- where flames were showing from the north side and rear of the apartment building.

The apartment is owned by Sally Sutter of Massena and is insured.

At the time of the blaze, investigators said Ms. Kelly had escaped the blaze with her dog, but they were unable to locate her to question her about the fire.

On Monday, Norwood Officer in Charge Shawn J. Wells said that Ms. Kelly had fled the scene and got a ride to Ogdensburg, where she was picked up through the assistance of Ogdensburg City Police Department. St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department and the St. Lawrence County Fire Investigation Team also assisted in the investigation.

"Through our investigation, we found she is definitely responsible for the fire and I am glad that we were able to hold her accountable for what she did for so many people's property," Mr. Wells said. "Part of the reason why it took a month is because we are a part-time agency. We're here when we're here. My guys did an amazing job tracking this down the way they did."

He said she wasn't charged with arson because in New York State, there has to be proof of intentionally setting a fire. The department didn't have the original cause and origin report that laid out the cause of the fire.

"I do not have enough to prove arson, so we went with the charges we could prove," he said.

Ms. Kelly was released on appearance tickets and she is scheduled to appear in Potsdam Court on Feb. 12.

The neighboring laundromat, Ms. Sutter's apartment, the adjoining upstairs apartment and an insurance office were also damaged, with the tenant of the upstairs apartment having been relocated due to fire damage, Mr. Wells said.

"If we didn't have the quick response we had from our fire department with assistance from Potsdam we would have lost the whole block, I'm sure," he said. "You watch the videos, our fire department was there within five minutes, tops, they were there. And that is a large part of what saved it."

Additionally, Ms. Sutter's apartment, where Ms. Kelly lived, is likely not to be restored, Mr. Wells said.

"At her age, she doesn't think it will be worth her time to rebuild it," he said. "She's in her 80s but she's lost this beautiful place she put together as an apartment. It used to be a store front ... and then she was using it as an apartment for rental income. So it's just gone. It was gorgeous, with hardwood floors, veneer on the exposed beams in the ceiling, stained glass windows in the doors between the living room and the bedroom, chandeliers in the ceiling. It was absolutely gorgeous."

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