Man found dead in Fitchburg fire was about to lose condo

FITCHBURG - The 59-year-old man who died in a fire that destroyed the Bartley Nolan Condominiums was about to lose his home for failing to pay condominium fees, according to court records.

Raymond L. Jerome, whose condo was on the third floor of the former school at 7 Beekman St., was found dead in the building near the remains of improvised explosive devices, the Worcester district attorney's office said Tuesday afternoon. He was positively identified by the state medical examiner's office, the district attorney's office said.

Mr. Jerome had owned the condominium since 1987, according to court documents. In 2015, the trustees of the Bartley Nolan Condominium Trust filed suit against Mr. Nolan, seeking to recover unpaid fees that totaled $5,221 by Jan. 1, 2016. Mr. Jerome was ordered to pay $856 initially and $214 per month to pay off what he owed and fees assessed. When that was not paid, sale of the condo unit by public auction was ordered, to satisfy a lien on the property resulting from the lawsuit. The real estate auction was scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, city officials and representatives from the condominium trust and insurance companies are looking at what they can do next to help the people living there. The city and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency have scheduled a meeting for noon Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 165 Electric Ave., to talk with residents of the building about what can be done for them.

Investigators found Mr. Jerome's body and two detonated IEDs on Monday, after a multi-alarm fire Sunday destroyed the building. The explosions and fire displaced about 50 people and destroyed much of the top floor and roof.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said investigators located the man's body on the third floor Monday afternoon, under rubble from the collapsed roof. Mr. Early said the cause and origin of the fire, which included several explosions, remain under investigation. He said investigators found the two detonated IEDs in the same apartment where the victim was found, along with two propane tanks. Asked at the news conference in the park across the street Monday afternoon whether arson was suspected, Mr. Early said, "That's where the investigation is taking us," but he wouldn't confirm whether arson was at play.

In the Monday news conference Mr. Early also said it was too early in the investigation to make a connection between the IEDs found in the apartment and the explosions that rattled the residential neighborhood, which surrounds a park. He did point out, however, that debris from the explosion was found all the way to about halfway through the park. Mr. Early said members of the state police bomb squad showed him pieces of the exploded IEDs, and said "it appeared whoever put these together knew what they were doing." Mayor Stephen DiNatale said Monday his condolences went out to the family of the man who was found in the renovated school building, which had 22 condo units. Mr. Early did not have a definitive number of people displaced Monday night. Mr. Jerome's body was found at about 3 p.m. Monday. Investigators had paused from digging through the rubble of a condominium fire and set up a red tarp around a key area on the third floor of the building.

The building remained behind police tape Tuesday. Residents of the building stopped by throughout the day hoping to talk to someone about the status of their homes and possessions. Chetan Mukhopadhyay and Piyanka Simlai said they were staying in a motel but concerned about their possessions. They said they had just moved into their condominium two weeks ago with new furniture.

Their unit was directly below Mr. Jerome's, where the explosions took place and the fire started. Debris was piled up outside their unit, hiding it from view. Mr. Mukhopadhyay said they were not home at the time of the fire and were most concerned about their passports, education certificates and other important documents.

Most of the residents got out Sunday night, some with firefighters' help, but some pets were believed to have perished in the blaze.

Kim Ring and Steven H. Foskett Jr. of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.

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