LEWISTON – Fire investigators were digging through rubble Tuesday in an attempt to determine what caused an explosion and fire that left a Main Street family homeless a day earlier.
Lewiston fire Investigator Pete Morrell was examining a motorcycle that had been stored in the basement of the 417 Main St. apartment house.
Morrell said early indications were that the 3 p.m. blaze may have started near the area where the Honda was stored in the cellar. However, by late Tuesday afternoon, the investigator was working to rule the motorcycle out as the cause of the blaze. An oil furnace and electrical system were ruled out as possible causes shortly after the fire was brought under control.
“It’s still inconclusive,” Morrell said Tuesday.
Michael Hodge lived in the building with his 14-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Both children were examined at a hospital Monday but neither suffered serious injury in the blaze.
Hodge told investigators he was thrown to the floor by a loud explosion just moments before the small, one-story building went up in flames.
The apartment house, owned by Stanley and Nancy Hines, was a complete loss, Morrell said. The building is assessed at just over $72,000, according the Lewiston Geographic Information System.
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