Police suspect arson in towing business fire

By CRAIG PITTMAN
Published March 6, 2007

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PINELLAS PARK - For 16 years, Joseph Kolodziej ran his towing business from a small wooden building at the front of his Pinellas Park property. Recently he decided to tear it down and build something larger.

He moved his computers and desks into a garage 20 feet away and hired someone to demolish the old office of Joe's Towing and Recovery. The demolition was supposed to start Monday.

Instead it turned into a clean-up job.

Late Sunday, close to midnight, Pinellas Park firefighters were called to Joe's Towing at 6670 114th Ave. The old office, built in 1947, was on fire.

"It burned pretty much to the ground," Kolodziej said.

But there wasn't much to burn, he said.

"I had gutted it out to be destroyed. I took out the lights, took the air conditioning out. It didn't have any windows in it or nothing," he said. "The building was vacant."

Firefighters noticed what appeared to be accelerants used to start the fire, so police are now investigating it as a possible arson, said Capt. Sanfield Forseth of the Pinellas Park police.

"They ... said, 'Did you start it?' and I said, 'Hell no!' " said Kolodziej. "It was a loss to me. I had no insurance on it."

Because the burned building sits at the front of his property, he said, some of his customers and friends thought his business had been destroyed. They didn't know he had moved temporarily into the garage and had plans to tear down the old office.

Anyone with information about the fire should contact Detective Cynthia Martin at (727) 541-0726.