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Photo Sue Harrison
Firefighters work on hotspots in the remains of Arthur Cohen’s studio. |
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Photo Sue Harrison
This pile of burned canvases were pulled from the studio. |
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Cohen studio lost in blaze
Banner Daily Update Tues. Mar. 4
Sue Harrison
Web Editor
Fire destroyed the studio of artist Arthur Cohen late Tuesday afternoon. Deputy Fire Chief Warren Alexander says the state fire marshal will be called in to investigate on Wednesday.
Recalling the string of 12 arsons this past fall, this fire and another suspicious incident on Monday have got the department back on alert.
Provincetown firefighters responded to a call for a building fire at 313 Bradford St. around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. When they arrived the small studio building at the rear of the Arthur Cohen residence was fully engulfed in flames. Firemen were able to contain the fire and knock it down in less than an hour but spent time afterward looking for hotspots. The studio and its contents were a complete loss.
Cohen was in New York at the time of the fire. When called and told about it by his friend and fellow artist Sal Del Deo, Cohen said he would return to Provincetown on Wednesday. He also told Del Deo that he had around 15 large paintings stored in the studio space that he primarily used for etchings.
“They live in a tenement house in New York and just wait for their time here,” Del Deo said. “At least it was not the house.”
In a separate event, Provincetown police said the owner of a local frame shop Monday reported a possible arson attempt at his studio, located at 288A Bradford St.
According to the police report, Shaun Pfeiffer, owner of Provincetown Picture Framing, said he found some scorched shingles on the rear wall of the framing studio that were not there a week ago, when he was last at the property. The fire department took photos of the burned shingles and sent them to the state fire marshal’s office for investigation.
While there has not been an intentionally set fire in Provincetown since Nov. 28, both Provincetown Police Chief Warren Tobias and fire marshal spokesperosn Jennifer Mieth said the investigation into the multiple arsons is still on going.
“We know it’s frustrating not to give details. But it is not dead at this point. There is still a very active investigation out of this office,” Mieth said.
Reporter Pru Sowers contributed to this story.
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Feb 28th, 2008