By William Kaempffer, Register Staff
wkaempffer@nhregister.com / Twitter: @kaempffer1

NEW HAVEN — Not long after arriving at the two-alarm State Street blaze Saturday, firefighters, some struggling with tears, began streaming into the veterinary clinic across the street, carrying pets they had pulled out of the burning building.

“Those firefighters obviously worked real hard to save those pets from the fire,” said Ken Aldrich, director of the New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine. “I can’t commend the firefighters enough for how fast they were and the level of compassion they had for these animals.”



For one cat in a firefighter’s arms, it was too late. It already was dead of smoke inhalation. Two other cats are missing, and presumed dead.

Two dogs and a cat were in intensive care Monday, and neighbors in East Rock are rallying around the pet owner, a Vietnam veteran and neighborhood fixture for more than two decades, to help pay the mounting veterinary bills.

Michael Simonelli didn’t even know his home above a pizza restaurant had burned until a day later. He was in the hospital recovering from a car crash Friday and a friend, concerned that he hadn’t been seen, said he was missing. When police tracked him down at the hospital, the Fire Department had been preparing to bring in a cadaver-sniffing dog in case his body was buried in the burned wreckage.

“Michael himself was nowhere to be found,” said his close friend, Anne Claunch, who typically checked in with Simonelli, 65, a few times a day but hadn’t heard from him since Thursday.

“That was really unusual, because he really cares about his pets and wouldn’t leave them alone for several days.”

The fire started Saturday morning inside a pizza restaurant at 858 State St., authorities believe, and spread to the second floor, which had two apartments. During the fire, firefighters rescued a cat and a dog.

On Sunday, as demolition began on the second floor, workers discovered a second dog that survived the fire and spent the night in the burned building in subfreezing temperatures. Continued...

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“That in and of itself is a miracle,” said Lisa Siedlarz, a neighbor and SoHu Block Watch captain who organized a fundraiser to help Simonelli.

“It was important because Mike has lived in this neighborhood for a very long time. I would say close to 30 years,” she said. “And this is just awful. If we can help, we should because we care about our neighbors.”

Her brother is a veteran who served in Afghanistan, and Siedlarz continues to volunteer with veterans, conducting writing workshops to help former soldiers cope with trauma through writing. She has two dogs of her own.

Donations can be made at www.sohunewhaven.org or at the animal hospital.

“In general, considering what they went through, they’re doing pretty well. We’re hopeful,” said Aldrich regarding the animals.

Sammy the cat was in the worst shape and was being treated in an oxygen chamber. Spooky the puppy was receiving oxygen through a tube in his nose. Mona the dog didn’t require oxygen, but also suffered from smoke inhalation. Aldrich said smoke inhalation is tricky. It’s hard to know what damage is in the lungs. It was fortunate, though, that the fire happened so close since firefighters had the animals there in a matter of seconds, he said.

Simonelli remained in the hospital Monday recovering from his accident. Medical staff was reluctant to discharge him with no place to go and support staff that usually assists at the hospital was off for the holiday.

“His car is destroyed. His apartment is destroyed. He’s lost probably three of his cats and he has none of his belongings anymore,” said Claunch, who lives in Berlin, Conn. She was taken aback by the generosity of neighbors and strangers in helping with the vet bills.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am. They’re good neighbors,” said Claunch.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation; no foul play is suspected.

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