FORT KENT, Maine – Fort Kent firefighters confined a fire on 49 Market Street to just one unit in the six-apartment building on Tuesday.
Nobody was hurt as a result of the fire, which occurred at roughly 11:54 a.m.
Fort Kent Fire Chief Ed Endee said on Thursday that the fire occurred in the rear-most apartment. He said the front of the building is multiple stories high, and that there are two single-story apartments at the rear of the building.
“It was fully involved on the fire department’s arrival,” he said. “There was fire coming out everywhere. We stopped it and held it into the rearmost apartment. There was some smoke damage in the next apartment in the single story section.”
The chief said that the Red Cross was on the scene relocating anyone that wanted to be relocated as a result of the fire. A total of six were displaced that night, however Endee said it is likely that all but the two living in the apartment where the fire occurred have since returned.
“They’re not going back in there for a while,” he said, “because it’ll take a while to rebuild that apartment.”
Endee said a family consisting of a mother, father and son living in the adjacent apartment chose not to stay for the remainder of the night, as the odors from the smoke bothered their child. One occupant of another apartment in the complex also decided not to return on the night of the fire.
Endee said the fire was “definitely accidental,” however the exact cause is still under investigation.
There were 17 Fort Kent firefighters on the scene along with five from the Eagle Lake Fire Department as mutual aid. Fort Kent police were also on the scene, along with the Red Cross and Ambulance Service, Inc, who were on standby in case any injuries occurred.
The apartment complex was insured, according to Endee.
