ROCKLAND, Maine — A fire damaged one apartment and a business Monday evening in a historic downtown apartment complex.
There were no injuries but the fire at the Thorndike Building kept Rockland firefighters at the scene for more than two hours.
Residents of the 44-unit apartment complex were evacuated.
The fire was reported at 5:25 p.m. by a resident of a second-floor apartment at the Thorndike, a four-story brick complex that has businesses on the Main Street level and apartments on the upper two floors.
The fire is not believed to be of suspicious origin, said Rockland Fire Chief Adam Miceli. The state fire marshal’s office has been called in to assist in the investigation but Miceli said there was work being done outside the building near the second floor rear apartment and which may be connected to the fire.
The fire was between the first and second floors and on the exterior of the building. There was heavy smoke in the second floor corridors but residents were able to evacuate safely.
The fire chief said a sprinkler head extinguished the fire in the one apartment where the fire broke out. That apartment had fire damage and water damage. The resident of that apartment will not be able to stay there until repairs are made.
There also was water damage to Lakeside Printing, which is below that second-floor apartment, Miceli said.
While there was smoke in the hallways, there was no real smoke damage in those areas.
Some residents sat on the sidewalks on Main Street outside the complex while crews fought the fire while others waited in the outside alcove.
Crews carried in equipment, including large fans, to help clear out the smoke.
The Thorndike Building is owned by MLW LLC of Ojai, California. One of the owners is Merrill Williams, according to city assessment records.