MECHANIC FALLS — One man was dead and nearly a dozen were left homeless after a blaze that engulfed an apartment house on Maple Street shortly after 11 p.m.Wednesday.

By early Thursday morning, fire officials were not identifying the dead man. Two witnesses familiar with the tenants of the building said they believed the fire was set although fire officials had not declared the blaze suspicious.

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 several area towns, including Norway, Paris and Otisfield, were called to the scene to assist Mechanic Falls firefighters as they battled the flames.

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 ten 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 the fight the blaze.

“The fire departments are still coming in,” Thorpe said at about 12:15 a.m.

He said he believed there were between three and five apartments in the building.

At noon Thursday, officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Office were at the scene to investigate the deadly blaze. The cause was not yet known.