EUCLID, Ohio — Euclid fire investigators are hoping to speak with the man whom they've identified as a person of interest in an arson fire at a downtown Euclid restaurant on Monday.
The fire happened early Monday morning at Paragon Wine and Cocktail Bar. Co-owner Jacqueline Morer told News 5 that her employees locked the bar shortly after midnight after a busy Browns home opener. She was returning home to Euclid from the family's second bar in downtown Cleveland when she spotted the smoke in the area.
“When I was at the stop sign at Babbitt and 222nd, I saw the smoke, and I thought, ‘That’s Paragon,'" she recalled.
Fire crews responded around 12:45 a.m. to the fire call on Lakeshore Boulevard. Flames had spread from an outside patio through a vent to the kitchen and into the bar.
When Paragon's security company reviewed surveillance video salvaged from the scene, it discovered footage of a man apparently using a lighter to set fire to an outside cabinet. Investigators say the same man was inside the bar before it closed for the night. He requested a glass of water and was eventually asked to leave for loitering without purchasing anything.
“I don’t know what it’s about. But nobody recognizes him - none of my employees. We don’t know who the person is, so I’m not really sure what the reasoning is behind it. I have no clue,” Morer said.
Paragon's kitchen is destroyed and the rest of the bar's interior saw significant smoke and fire damage. Morer said the business will also lose all inventory that was inside at the time of the fire.
“It’s really devastating," she said. "It’s just the unknown. I’ve never dealt with this before, so for me, it’s like - how fast can we get this up and running again?”
Fire investigators are asking for the public's help in locating the man seen on security video. They're calling him a person of interest and said the fire was a public safety risk.
"It’s not just the property, the content, that sort of damage. There are apartments surrounding that area. So now you’re talking about [potential] loss of human life,” said Capt. Anthony Pellegrino, the Fire Safety Inspector at the Euclid Fire Department. “We also have firefighters that are responding. It’s a dangerous job for any fire. So he’s putting people’s lives in jeopardy.”
No injuries were reported. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to nearby businesses and apartments, but they expect Paragon will need to be completely renovated before reopening.
“I’m just kind of springing into action mode right now, figuring out how fast we can get it fixed and how quickly Paragon can get reopened. But I am 100 percent certain it will happen,” Morer said.
She told News 5 the community is already showing support for the temporarily closed bar and other local businesses are offering work shifts to Paragon's displaced employees.
“We all work together and we all want everyone to be successful. So they’re definitely coming out and supporting us,” she said. "The Euclid Police Department is amazing, the fire department is amazing, just everybody in the community, our customers. It's overwhelming to see that."
The fire department is hoping to speak with the man who they have identified as a person of interest. The State Fire Marshal is offering up to a $5,000 reward for information in the case.
Anyone with information on his location is asked to call Euclid investigators at 216-289-8425 or the SFM's Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau's (FEIB) investigative hotline at 1-800-589-2728.
