HANCOCK - For those involved in the July 25 fire at 116 Quincy St. in downtown Hancock, Monday's news that 47-year-old Ronald Kemppainen had been arrested for one count of arson and four counts of homicide, came as good news.
"This was such a tragedy for all involved," said Marsha Woods, the mother of 43-year-old Troy Woods, who perished in the fire. "We are so glad someone has been arrested for the fire and now for the four homicides."
While Woods is happy someone was arrested, it doesn't help bring Troy back.
"The fact that this fire was set on purpose is just awful; four innocent people died that day and left family and friends," she said. "Troy left a 3-year-old son who will never have the chance to know his father."
The Woods family, which lives in San Diego had the opportunity to visit Troy a month before the fire.
"We thank God every day for being able to see Troy before the fire," Woods said. "We are so pleased the Hancock Police Department stayed on top of this investigation and were able to arrest the person responsible for the fires.
"Let's hope now the court system will find the person guilty of all charges and give him the maximum penalty."
For Lt. Randy Mayra with the Hancock Police Department, the arrest is just the start of the next part of the process.
"From a police perspective, this is the first step in the process and we'll let the court proceedings go from there," Mayra said. "I look at it like any case, we do the arrest and let the judicial system do its process."
Mayra hopes that the friends and families of the victims will be helped as the case moves forward.
"I guess for the families of the victims it's starting to allow for some closure," he said.
At Directions Unlimited, the drop-in center which was located on the ground floor of 116 Quincy St., the news was a popular topic of conversation.
"We're relieved," said Executive Director Angela Kilpela. "It's good to know that someone is in custody. We had suspicions I guess, so we're not really surprised at who it is."
Kemppainen is a former resident of 116 Quincy St., and Kilpela said he stopped by the drop-in center every once in a while.
"He didn't really talk to anybody much," she said. "He never gave anybody any problems, but we didn't get to know him very well."
Michael H. Babcock can be reached at mbabcock@mininggazette.com.