SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A blazing ceiling collapsed on firefighters battling back a second-floor flare-up early Wednesday morning, but everyone was able to escape the ordeal alive, according to firefighters on scene.
The blaze, which decimated an apartment building at 554 Main St. and damaged the exterior of the structure next door, was reported at approximately 4:15 a.m. Wednesday.
“It really took off quickly,” South Portland Fire Chief Kevin Guimond told WCSH 6. “Within five minutes the roof was coming down on the firefighters. I had to evacuate them.”
The state fire marshal’s office determined that the blaze was accidental, Fire Marshal Joe Thomas said Wednesday afternoon.
“It appears to have started in or around a recessed light fixture in the ceiling of the second floor, and that would be consistent with the type of damage we found at the place,” Thomas said.
Thomas said an investigator from his office spoke to residents of the building, who said they smelled something burning Tuesday night, but could not find the source. He said the ceiling insulation likely was packed too closely to the the rear portion of the light fixture, starting off a slow, smoldering burn before a full fire caught on in the early morning hours.
“If they don’t have room to breathe, those [recessed light] canisters get very, very hot,” he said.
Nearby resident Matthew Robbins told the BDN the smell of smoke woke him and his wife up at their home as far as two blocks away. Robbins, a photographer and graphic artist, went to the scene and took pictures of the fire.
“You could feel the heat coming off of the building, and of course it was melting the siding on the building next to it,” Robbins said. “It was intense. Flames were just shooting up into the sky and huge plumes of smoke were billowing out.”
Traffic was blocked off for several hours in the Main Street vicinity of the incident, but has now been reopened. Approximately three residents of the apartment were reportedly unharmed in the fire.
Yikes! Glad everyone got out safely.
How horrifying!
Praying non stop for their recovery. They do a job most people would never attempt. God Bless our firefighters!!
God bless them? If he did bless them then he wouldn’t have let a burning building fall on them. No Please use all the medical instruments and science we have come up with to help these brave men out. Praying will not help them. Men and Women working tirelessly will.
mero, you are entitled to your opinion, but I do not share it. Science and prayers are not mutually exclusive in my world.
You are correct, I was just being bitter. I apologize, anything helps and these brave men need and should get all they can.
Please update the readers on the status of these firemen! “everyone was able to escape the ordeal alive” does not cut it. Were they taken away for first aid treatment? Were they burned? Everyone is hoping and praying their training, equipment, and procedures leaves them with minimal injuries.
Please update the readers as you can. Thanks!
It appears that statement in the written context looks more dire than when Chief Guimmond said them on the News. My impression from seeing his brief interview was that the roof came down while they were operating and he ordered them to retreat without incident.
Thanks, Your assessment is the same as mine. It would be easier for BDN to simply state the firemen are ok instead of trying for sensationalism or just not asking the Chief, “Are your firefighters involved ok?”
Glad to see the Chief had a good assessment of conditions and made the right call at the right time! Kudos & One long air-horn to you!
Thank God they made it out alive. This is a reminder of how dangerous their job is. Whenever you start to resent the money that they make, remind yourself that they have a much more dangerous job than most people.