LEWISTON – Demolition crews started taking down two Lisbon Street buildings Saturday after engineers said the fire-gutted buildings were so frail that a strong wind could topple them into the street.

Crews from Costello Dismantling knocked down chunks of the century-old Cressey and Kora buildings early Saturday afternoon, just minutes after Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett emerged from an emergency meeting with the company. By late afternoon, a mound of rubble spilled nearly halfway across deserted Lisbon Street, and there was a ragged gap in the straight-line silhouette of the densely packed buildings.

Police and fire officials say crews will return Tuesday to finish razing Cressey and Kora and to demolish the neighboring New England Furniture building and the Greely building, which is also known as the Marco’s building. They were also damaged in this week’s fire.

“We’ve been holding our breath hoping those buildings wouldn’t come down before they could be knocked down,” said Paul Rousseau, owner of Greely Capital LLC, the investment group that owns Cressey, Kora and Greely. Renovations recently began on the buildings.

Police say the devastation began late Tuesday night when Timothy Giggey, 27, of Auburn, Douglas Hersom, 26, of Lewiston, and a 17-year-old boy broke into the Cressey building and set several fires. Because Cressey is sandwiched between Greely and Kora, the flames quickly spread among the buildings. It took more than 24 hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The men have been arrested and charged with arson and burglary. The teenager is being detained at a juvenile facility in connection with the fire.

Lisbon Street remains closed between Ash and Pine streets, as does the neighboring Centreville Parking Garage on Canal Street. Bennett hopes to have the garage and at least one lane of Lisbon Street open by the end of next week.

Costello, a Massachusetts-based company, has demolished a number of local landmarks in recent years, including the old St. Dominic Regional High School, the F.W. Webb building and the Libbey Mill. The company will be paid $495,000 for knocking down Greely, Cressey and Kora, according to Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett. It will get another $165,000 for removing the New England Furniture building, owned by Platz Associates’ Tim Corp.

Night News editor Heather McCarthy contributed to this report.