One dead in Mechanic Falls fire

MECHANIC FALLS — One man was dead and nine people were left homeless after a blaze engulfed an apartment house on Maple Street shortly after 11 p.m.Wednesday. Three firefighters also received minor injuries in the fire, authorities said.

Mechanic Falls fire Chief Fred Sturtevant confirmed that one person was killed, but the man's name was not released. Two witnesses familiar with the tenants of the building said they believed the fire was set. Maine State Police and the State Fire Marshal's Office are investigating, but the cause has yet to be determined.

The three-story building near the corner of Maple and South Main streets was said to be engulfed in flames when the first fire crews arrived.

At 12:40 a.m., smoke and steam were pouring from the building, where a large ladder truck was directing water to battle flames. There was a gaping hole in the building's roof. Flames were not visible, but smoke was drifting through the center of town.

Crews from 10 different area towns, including Norway, Paris and Otisfield, were called to the scene to assist Mechanic Falls firefighters as they battled the flames, officials said. At least two dozen emergency vehicles were on the scene early Thursday; more than a dozen were firetrucks. There also were ambulances and public works vehicles on the scene. 

The building is located at 3 Maple St., near the intersection with Route 11.

Witnesses reported the fire appeared to have started on the upper floors. One man passing through the area said he saw 10-foot flames shooting from the second floor. Another man, a paper carrier, said fire had consumed the top of the building when he went by.

"When I got down here, fire was coming through the roof around the chimney," said Sun Journal carrier Jim Thorpe.

Early Thursday morning, police had a section of Main Street blocked to traffic as fire crews continued to the fight the blaze.

By 10 a.m. on Thursday, about 15 people were on hand to help with cleanup. Some were tenants and others were friends and family. Employees of Roscoe's Rockin Railroad Buffet, located just down the street from the scene, stopped by to tell volunteers a free hot meal would be available to them.

"Surprisingly nobody came up; they had a whole lot of other people helping them out," said owner Roscoe Grant, who was at the restaurant Wednesday night and saw the firetrucks heading down to the building.

"We just figured that there are some people that are busy trying to move without any advanced notice, and we just thought we could give them something to eat to help them along, that was all," Grant said.