Burning Camper in Stratford Was Bridgeport Candidate's Campaign Bus

A motorized camper that caught ablaze in a fenced-in lot on Frog Pond Avenue Wednesday now turns out to have been a little more than just an abandoned vehicle.

The 1973 GMC Eleganza belonged to Rich Torres, a candidate for Bridgeport's City Council and the owner of Harborview Market in Black Rock, the Connecticut Post reported.


And what's more, it was his campaign bus.

Torres told the newspaper he was "suspicious" after the blaze, due to volatile party politics, and said he suspected the use of an accelerant in the fire.

"Regrettably, a lot of people involved in Democratic politics in Bridgeport -- some of them are very bad people," he said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze, which pumped smoke into the sky for blocks around the Longbrook Park area, at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The camper was destroyed. Fire department spokesperson Jon Gottfried told Patch the fire marshal's office is investigating the cause.

The fenced-in lot, previously the Raybestos Memorial Field, is across the street from the Stratford Public Works fleet garage.

Jason Bagley contributed to this report.