PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The White Dog Market is a total loss after a fire occurred at the Presque Isle convenience store early Saturday morning, said the Presque Isle Fire Department Monday.
The cause of the fire is undetermined and will be investigated by the state fire marshal’s office beginning on Monday afternoon, according to Presque Isle Fire Chief Darrell White. Presque Isle Fire does not consider the fire suspicious.
The first call came in to Presque Isle Fire at 1:43 a.m. With a flurry of sirens blaring across Presque Isle in the wee hours of Saturday morning, it was evident that something tragic had occurred.
Firefighters fought the fire for nearly five hours, clearing the scene at 6:27 a.m. The Presque Isle Fire Department — which sent 17 firefighters to the scene — was assisted by Caribou Fire and Easton Fire. White estimated that Easton Fire sent 10-12 firefighters of its own.
Firefighters worked tirelessly to fight flames that White said could have originated in the market’s basement. He said firefighters were unable to reach the basement for safety reasons — they were afraid the floor would give out.
“It’s a total loss,” White said. “The structure is still standing, but there was some heavy fire damage.”
There were no injuries and the market had closed hours before. White said one of the first actions firefighters took at the scene was to trigger all emergency shut-offs for propane and fuel tanks in the Sunoco Gas Station section of the business.
The owners of the store — which is located on Parson Street in Presque Isle — confirmed the incident in a Facebook post on Saturday. Matt and Nicole Irwin thanked the community for its support, and said they would update the public as they “navigate the process” to come.
The White Dog Market is the brainchild of Matt Irwin — Presque Isle police chief from 2011 to 2018 — and his wife Nicole. The couple purchased the location — by then a vacant gas station and convenience store — around May of last year.
Naming the spot after their dog Baxter, the couple had envisioned it to be a go-to location in an otherwise underdeveloped section of the Star City.
White said the building was insured.
