OAKLAND, Maine — Seven residents were left homeless after a fire destroyed a Water Street duplex on Thursday, an Oakland Fire Department official said.
All of those who were home at the time made it out safely, Fire Chief Dave Coughlin said late Thursday afternoon.
While all seven tenants have a place to stay for the time being, the local chapter of the American Red Cross has been called in to assist them with other needs, Coughlin said.
The fire at 89 Water St. was reported about 10 a.m. and proved a stubborn one to deal with, the chief said.
“It was a total loss. The whole building is gone. It was fully involved, pretty much, when we got there,” he said.
Coughlin said the day’s frigid temperatures made it difficult for fire crews to get enough water and that because the relatively old structure had undergone numerous renovations, fire made its way into multiple ceilings and walls. He added that an excavator was brought in to remove the roof as a safety precaution.
Fire crews were at the scene until 4 p.m., he said.
Coughlin said the blaze appears to have started at the back of the building, but that as of late Thursday afternoon, what started it remained undetermined. An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office was called in to help pinpoint the cause.
The building was insured but the tenants did not have renters insurance.
Oakland firefighters were assisted by members of the Waterville, Belgrade, Sidney, Rome and Smithfield fire departments, Coughlin said.
Bangor Daily News writer Ryan McLaughlin contributed to this report.