Lewiston firefighters and United Ambulance personnel follow the railroad tracks under the Veterans Memorial Bridge Thursday afternoon on their way to a brush fire at a homeless encampment in the woods nearby. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
LEWISTON — Fire crews doused a woods fire Thursday afternoon at a homeless encampment beneath the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Police said a mattress caught fire and spread to the woods at about 2 p.m. One woman who suffered minor burns in the blaze was taken to a hospital for medical issues believed to be related to a drug overdose, according to Lewiston Police Lt. David St. Pierre.
Firefighters approached the fire from the dead end of Libby Avenue, off Main Street, after they were called to the blaze at about 2 p.m. They remained on site for at least an hour after the fire was reported to handle clean up of the area.
The section of woods that burned is along a trail that runs between the railroad tracks and the Riverwalk along the Androscoggin River. The area is known for homeless encampments where groups pitch tents in warmer months.
A fire official said there were several tents and makeshift tents in the area where the mattress burned.
Lewiston Fire Investigator Paul Ouellette was investigating the blaze.
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