RUMFORD – A small fire broke out Monday morning at a massage clinic on Route 108, causing an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in damage, said Chris Stanford, an investigator with the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office.
No one was injured at the unoccupied, two-story building that houses the Riverside Therapeutic Massage Clinic at 170 Route 108.
Stanford said late Monday afternoon that the fire originated in the building’s lobby, damaging a countertop, cupboards under the counter and a section of interior wall.
“At this time, the cause is undetermined. It is still under investigation,” Stanford said. He said the house and business is owned by Sharon Kennedy.
Smoke from the fire was spotted at about 10:17 a.m. by Tracey Hart of Bethel, who was just up the street working with a Lucas Tree crew cutting limbs away from utility wires.
White smoke rolled out of vents and eaves on the small wood-frame house when Rumford firefighters arrived three minutes after Hart’s 911 call.
Deputy Chief Scott Holmes requested mutual aid from Mexico and Peru fire departments, and had Dixfield firefighters stand by at the Rumford station.
Smoke detectors inside the house sounded continuously while firefighters donned breathing gear and headed in.
“We broke windows out of the front door and knocked the fire down, then reached through the window frame and unlocked the door to reach the fire,” Holmes said.
He said the fire generated substantial heat that melted Venetian blinds.
Holmes credited the quick 911 call and fast response with saving the house and business, and keeping water and fire damage confined to the lobby.
Med-Care Ambulance assisted, as did Rumford patrolmen David Bean and Corey Jacques, who directed one-way traffic around the firetrucks.
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