Arson team probes 3d fire to hit hair salon

Shops burned in 2 neighborhoods

Fire has disrupted Maria Joseph's life again.

For the third time in less than three years, the owner of Maria's Hair Fashion was awakened in the early morning by a telephone alert that her salon was ablaze.

At daybreak yesterday, after firefighters had quickly put out the 4 a.m. fire at 138 South St. in Jamaica Plain, Joseph, distraught and in disbelief, walked through the partially charred entrance of her business, sidestepping heaps of singed pink insulation and pools of soot-darkened water as she surveyed the damage.

Later in the morning, she said in a brief telephone interview, "I'm ready to cry again."

An arsonist had set fire in March 2006 to the original Maria's Hair Fashion, at the same address. Joseph then relocated to Logan Square in Hyde Park, where she opened Maria's Hair Fashion 2. Many of her customers followed her and she gained new clients.

With success at the Hyde Park location, Joseph and her husband, Paul, a Boston Police sergeant, contemplated keeping the Hyde Park salon open even as they planned to move back into the South Street address, which was being rebuilt by building owner Nikolaos Skourtis.

Then, on Jan. 6, 2008, at 3:40 a.m. a fire destroyed Maria's Hair Fashion 2 and several adjoining businesses. Investigators said the blaze started at the Hyde Park hair salon, but the cause has yet to be determined.

Then, early yesterday, exactly a year after the Hyde Park blaze, flames erupted at the front of the South Street site. Three adjoining shops, all vacant since the March 2006 fire forced out a pizzeria, an apparel store, and another business, appeared untouched.

Maria Joseph, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic 24 years ago and opened the salon seven years later, said she was too upset to discuss the fires.

But Paul Joseph said he believes the family business is being targeted.

"This is much more than a coincidence," he said, standing in front of the salon yesterday morning. "We think that whoever did this is a sick individual. I don't know what their motivation is. I hope they catch them."

Paul Joseph said his insurance premiums have gone up as a result of the fires.

"The insurance makes you whole again," he said, "but the emotional toll, or burden, is a cross I wouldn't wish upon anyone to bear."

Arson investigators combed the wreckage yesterday, looking for clues. Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman, said the blaze caused about $40,000 in damage, mostly to the entrance and front portion of the salon, where the fire started.

MacDonald said investigators are working to determine the cause. "Of course, we are aware of the history," he said, referring to the two previous blazes.

Arson has ravaged at least eight businesses in Jamaica Plain since July 2005, when a Molotov cocktail was lobbed into El Oriental de Cuba restaurant on Centre Street. Speculation among residents and business owners, that perhaps an arsonist was targeting Greek property owners or Hispanic entrepreneurs, has abounded, but no arrests have been made.

Fire investigators are also evaluating at least three other fires, including yesterday's, that have closed or disrupted about a dozen businesses.

Raymond Fernandes, the owner of Fernandes Spa and Liquors, said yesterday, "This has me nervous, unfortunately."

His store sits roughly 200 feet from the scene of the hair salon blaze.

"For this to happen to the same person three times, I don't know what to think about that," he said about the fire, which forced him to delay opening his store yesterday about a half hour.

Skourtis, who owns 138-142 South St., said he'll rebuild again. "There's nothing else I can do," he said. "If I put up cameras, they'll come with their face covered."

Asked if he would prefer the hair salon went elsewhere, Skourtis said, "I don't want to say that to her. Maria, she's been a good client, and I want to see her establish her business again."