The owner of Truck Crane Service, a demolition company based in Westfield, came to the assistance of fire investigators who needed help recovering the bodies of two persons killed in a suspicious fire in Northampton in 2010. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – It is doubtless a sound business practice to ensure that payment will be forthcoming before undertaking a job but, according to one state trooper, there is at least one businessman in the city who is willing to ignore that maxim and do what needs to be done, regardless of the payday.
State Trooper Michael Mazza, an investigator assigned to the Massachusetts Fire Marshal’s office, said recently that he encountered a problem while investigating a string of about 40 suspicious fires which were set in Northampton and, when he called on Paul Liptak of Truck Crane Service, that problem was resolved.
Mazza said that, on Dec. 27, 2009, he had been investigating 17 suspicious fires which had been set in a 75 minute period the night before and “early in the morning we realized that we had two missing parties in one of the houses” which had partially collapsed and said “we knew right away that we were going to need heavy equipment” to find the victims in the rubble and “render it safe for investigators to get in there to remove the bodies.”
Mazza said that typically the investigators rely on an insurance company or the host community to provide the needed heavy equipment but “this particular day was a Sunday, it was a holiday week, and we didn’t have insurance information but we needed the equipment and we needed it soon.” So, he called Liptak at home.
He said that Liptak was at church when he called but he called back promptly to ask how he could help.
Mazza said he told Liptak that he was investigating a fire scene where victims were still in the rubble.
He said he told Liptak “Paul, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to pay you but I need a favor.”
Mazza said that Liptak responded, “I don’t care if you ever pay me. If you need help, we’ll be there.”
Mazza said that within two hours, Liptak was at the scene with two excavators and a partial crew and hours later a full crew was there working with the investigators to find the victims.
He said that, with the help of the Truck Crane Service equipment and crew working on a volunteer basis, the investigators “were able to go in there and remove the bodies in a timely manner” to help put the family at ease.
Mazza said that the Truck Crane Services crew stayed on the scene “essentially around the clock” the next several days as long as the investigators were working and helped them gather evidence to build a case.
He said that Truck Crane Service, which had an existing relationship with Northampton’s building commission, ultimately was hired by the city to take down the remains of the burned building but called Liptak’s immediate assistance “an incredible act of kindness.”
Mazza said that Anthony P. Baye, 28, of 85 Hawley St., eventually accepted responsibility for about 40 fires set in Northampton between 2007 and 2009, including the 17 fires set on the night the two victims died.
He was sentenced to a 19-20 year term in state prison to be followed by a 15 year term of probation.
