PORTLAND, Maine — The Nov. 1 fire at a Noyes Street home that claimed the lives of six people sparked a community wide conversation about building safety and what role the city of Portland should play in ensuring it.
The city has formed an inspections task force in response to the fire but one local group is worried that force isn’t representing everyone.
After the fire, the city released inspection logs showing 16 complaints made against the 20-24 Noyes St. building where it took place. Some were resolved but others led to investigations and code violations.
Since the release of the report, a city task force has been formed and people in the community are working to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Catherine Wilson is one of those people.
Wilson’s son lived in the building, but wasn’t home when the fire broke out.
She is forming a group that she hopes will work alongside the city’s task force and be a voice for renters and tenants, a group of people she doesn’t think is currently represented.
Her group has two goals: The first is to make sure renters’ complaints are heard, and the second is to educate them.
CBS 13 spoke with the president of the Southern Maine Landlord’s Association who told us Pine Tree Legal is working with the task force to represent tenants but he welcomes this group to work alongside them.
Wilson’s group is holding their first meeting Friday.
Investigators have yet to publicly declare the cause of the blaze, which was reported just after 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, the morning after residents at the two-unit, 94-year-old home reportedly held a Halloween party.
The victims of the fire have been identified as tenants David Bragdon Jr., 27, Ashley Thomas, 29, and Nicole Finlay, 26, as well as visitors to the building Christopher Conlee, 25, of Portland and Maelisha Jackson, 23, of Topsham.
A sixth victim, 29-year-old Steven Summers of Rockland, leapt from the upper floors of the 94-year-old building to escape. He was hospitalized with severe burns and died from his injuries three days later.
Seven others who were at the house when the fire broke out escaped.
BDN Portland Bureau Chief Seth Koenig contributed to this story.