WATERVILLE — A fire destroyed an apartment building on School Street early Monday morning, displacing 10 people who lived there, according to fire officials.
The report of a structure fire at 22 School St., across the road from the Albert S. Hall School, came in just after 1:30 a.m., Waterville Fire-Rescue said in a post on its Facebook page.
Authorities believe a smoke detector alerted the occupants to the fire, allowing them to make it out safely with no injuries.
The two-alarm fire drew a mutual aid response from Fairfield, Oakland, Skowhegan and Winslow fire departments.
Firefighters focused their efforts on battling flames on the second and third floors of the building, but a portion of the roof ended up collapsing, authorities said.
Flames were extinguished by 7 a.m. but firefighters remained at the scene for hours to check on hot spots that could flare up.
The people who were displaced were assisted by the Red Cross, officials said. Central Maine Power Co. cut power to School Street as firefighters worked the blaze, but electricity later was restored to the area.
There was no preliminary indication of a cause, and the state fire marshal’s office is investigating. Waterville fire Chief Shawn Esler did not return messages seeking additional details. A real estate listing from several years ago indicated the building had three units.
School Street is west of downtown and extends from Elm Street to Pleasant Street.
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