An apartment house at 46 High St. was evacuated Monday night as the result of a fire on the first floor. Mark LaFlamme/Sun Journal Mark LaFlamme/Sun Journal

AUBURN — Firefighters say improperly discarded smoking materials may have caused Monday night’s fire in a three-story apartment building on High Street.

Auburn Fire Deputy Chief Matthew Fifield said two tenants spotted the fire that started in a rear, first-floor apartment at 46 High St. around 9:30 p.m. They partially extinguished the blaze and helped get a man out of the building.

That man was taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston for smoke inhalation, while the two people who helped him were treated on site for burns on their hands. The tenants’ names were not available Tuesday.

When firefighters arrived, they quickly put out the fire but reported that the first floor was filled with smoke. The building was evacuated but tenants were allowed to return around midnight, after the smoke had cleared.

Fifield said the fire is being investigated by the Auburn fire investigator and the State Fire Marshal’s Office. They believe the fire may have been caused by smoking materials that were not properly discarded in that first-floor apartment.

“Probably the highlight on this is that we recently just completed a life safety inspection on site with the owner and the fire alarm was properly working and notified all tenants, who all got out unharmed,” Fifield said.

The building is owned by Archie Morrissette.


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