Tag Archives: Maine

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Portland, ME – Sprinkler system contains overnight bank fire; Business opens as usual in morning

About two dozen firefighters responded to the Norway Savings Bank building early Wednesday morning for a fire.  A bank spokeswoman said the bank will open as usual Wednesday. The bank’s drive-up opened at 8 a.m. and its lobby will open at 8:30 a.m., she said.  Karen Hakala said bank officials were thankful that no one was in the building when the fire broke out and that no one was hurt.

The fire started on the third floor near a water heater, Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Neat said.  Crews were called to the building on Congress Street around 2:45 a.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Old Orchard Beach, ME – Kitchen fire at apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire at an apartment complex in Old Orchard Beach damaged two units Monday and caused $100,000 in damage, the fire chief said.  Alarms sounded about 10:30 a.m. after a kitchen stove fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system, said Old Orchard Beach Fire Chief Ed Dube.

Fire crews responded to find smoke coming from the building at 18 Smithwheel Road, but the flames were already extinguished by the sprinkler, Dube said. No one was injured.  Water damaged the third-floor unit where the fire began and damaged one below it.

Office Building, Other Business

Portland, ME – Fire in storage room of commercial building put out by sprinkler system

Firefighters are crediting a building’s sprinkler system with quickly extinguishing a fire Thursday morning on Commercial Street. Officials said a witness reported seeing smoke coming out of a basement window in a building at the corner of Commercial and Center Streets. The fire was confined to a storage room, but was mostly out by the time crews arrived. Officials could not immediately say what started the fire. No injuries were reported.

Office Building, Other Business

Portland, ME – Fire in storage room of commercial building put out by sprinkler system

Firefighters are crediting a building’s sprinkler system with quickly extinguishing a fire Thursday morning on Commercial Street. Officials said a witness reported seeing smoke coming out of a basement window in a building at the corner of Commercial and Center Streets. The fire was confined to a storage room, but was mostly out by the time crews arrived. Officials could not immediately say what started the fire. No injuries were reported.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

South Berwick, ME – Fire in middle school utility room held in check by sprinkler system

Students and staff at Marshwood High School in South Berwick are being taken to Marshwood Middle School after a fire broke out Tuesday morning. The fire was reported in a utility room at 10:30 a.m., according to Regional School Unit 35 business manager Randy Stewart.

Officials said the fire started in a dryer in the room. The utility room is located behind the school gym on the first floor of the building.  The fire caused part of the building to fill with smoke, and it triggered the building’s sprinkler system.

The sprinklers knocked down the flames until firefighters could put out the blaze. Students and staff will remain at the middle school until fire officials give them the OK to return. Officials said it could take several hours to clear smoke from the building.

Students could be allowed to retrieve belongings Tuesday afternoon. No one was hurt. The Maine Fire Marshal’s Office will investigate the cause, which is standard protocol for a fire in a school.  School officials said all high school athletic games, practices, meets and activities have been postponed due to the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Orono, ME – Sprinkler system knocks down grease fire at apartment building

Crews responded to a fire at an apartment complex in Orono Monday afternoon.

The call came in around 2:30 to the Reserve apartments, formerly known as the Grove.

Officials say a grease fire triggered the sprinkler system in one of the units. As a result the fire was out when crews arrived.

There was significant smoke and water damage, though, leaving the apartment unliveable for now.

“I believe the resident was attempting to deep fry something and it caught on fire, put it in the sink, put water on it, which expanded the grease, caused the sprinkler heads to go off,” said Capt. Joel Sides of the Orono Fire Department.

Fire officials remind you to always use baking soda–not water–to put out a grease fire.

Other - Residential

Waterville, ME – Fire at assisted living home suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Five people were displaced from a residential assisted living home on Pleasant Street Sunday morning when a small fire broke out in a bedroom. The fire, reported at 7:56 a.m., was mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, according to a news release from the Waterville Fire Department.

The home is operated by Motivational Services Inc., an Augusta-based organization that provides services and programs for individuals with mental illnesses, according to their website. The five residents who were displaced have been moved to other area programs run by the organization, Executive Director Michael Provencher said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at 8:01 a.m. and completely extinguished the fire by 8:06 a.m. Firefighters worked quickly to ensure that the fire had not spread, which they determined by 8:17 a.m., according to Captain Shawn Esler. Since the home is a licensed health care facility, it is protocol for the fire department to call the state fire marshal’s office.

Investigators from the fire marshal’s office cleared the scene around 1:30 p.m. Sunday after completing safety inspections in the home. Ken MacMaster, an investigator with the fire marshal’s office, said the investigation is ongoing and could not comment on the cause of the fire, though he said it had been determined. He also could not say whether it was believed to be of suspicious origin.

No additional information will be available from the fire marshal’s office until Monday, MacMaster said. Provencher could not comment in regards to the individuals who lived in the home, stating their conditions are “confidential.” He said that once minor repairs and alarm checks were completed the individuals would be able to return to the home.

Twenty-one firefighters from the Waterville Fire Department responded to the call. Mutual aide from the Winslow Fire Department and the Fairfield Fire Department were dispatched to the scene but were released once the fire was under control, the news release said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portland, ME – Apartment kitchen fire suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A section of Congress Street in Portland was shut down for several hours last Tuesday after a kitchen fire set off a sprinkler system in a downtown apartment building. Deputy Fire Chief John Everett said a flash fire broke out on a stove in a fourth-floor kitchen at 439 Congress St. around 2 p.m.

Though the fire caused minor damage, it set off the sprinkler system in the Metropolitan Apartments. Everett said water from the fire suppression system caused damage to the kitchen and two apartments below it as well as to businesses located on the first floor.

Firefighters spent more than three hours in the building vacuuming up water and covering items that were damaged by the water.  Congress Street between Elm and Temple streets remained closed for more than three hours.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

South Portland, ME – Sprinkler system prevents fire from spreading in condominium complex

Officials with the South Portland Fire Department said no one was hurt after a fire broke out at a condominium complex. The call came in at 12:41 a.m. for a working structure fire.  It happened at Ferry Village Landing condos located at 215 High Street in South Portland.

Authorities said two of the building’s 15 units were damaged. The fire is believed to have started in the walls of one unit and continued up to the attic.  Officials said the activation of the sprinkler system contained the working fire from spreading to other units.

The Red Cross is assisting in the relocation of occupants of one of the units and others are staying with family and friends. Officials said the fire is not considered suspicious, but an official cause is still under investigation.

Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and Westbrook fire departments assisted in station coverage and mutual aid.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Lincoln, ME – Sprinklers help contain fire at Lincoln Wood Shavings Mill

A fire broke out at LMJ Enterprises in Lincoln around 6 a.m. The mill, located in the former Haskell Lumber facility on Main Street, makes wood shavings for animal bedding.

There was extensive heat and water damage inside the building, according to fire fighters.

Authorities tell TV-5 the fire was burning for several hours before they arrived. The building’s sprinkler system kept the flames from 15doing more damage.

The fire is not considered suspicious and the Fire Marshal’s office has been called in to determine a cause.