CARIBOU, Maine — Investigators have concluded that a Caribou fire that claimed the life of a young man Monday was set by the victim in a bedroom.
Jordan McEwen, 18, set the fire on a closet shelf and later died of smoke inhalation, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland. The teenager also was suspected of setting fire to an apartment house in November where he was living at the time, McCausland said.
McEwen had been living in the mobile home on Dow Siding Road with his mother and brother since the November fire at his apartment. He was home alone Monday when he called family members to report the fire after it broke out, McCausland said.
The whole back end of the mobile home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after the fire was called in at about 9:58 a.m. Monday, according to Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi. Susi said the back bedroom window had blown out and the flames were shooting about 5 feet above the eaves.
Within minutes of arriving, firefighters cut a hole in a wall in the area where they had been told McEwen made his call so they could extract him, Susi said, but McEwan was not there. The firefighters then conducted a full house search and found McEwen about 10 minutes later.
Efforts to revive McEwen at the scene and on the way to Cary Medical Center were unsuccessful.
Susi praised the firefighters for their efforts.
“They did everything the way they were supposed to, they made a direct entry where we were told he would be without any questions — when they found nothing, they jumped in and did a complete house search to pull him out,” Susi said.
It took the firefighters about an hour to knock down the flames, saving what they could for the fire marshals.
The home was deemed a total loss. Fire Marshal Timothy Lowell said no working smoke detector was found in the home.
Caribou Ecumenical Food Pantry Coordinator Jessica Feeley fondly recalled McEwen, who had been an active volunteer with the organization for about two years.
“Since he got his drivers license last year, he’d be there every Tuesday or Thursday morning by 7:15 to unload the truck for us,” Feeley said.
McEwen taught Feeley and other food pantry volunteers how to use their smartphones, a process Feeley recalled with a big grin, and gave his time to pantry recipients as he listened to old stories and formed friendships.
“He was just a nice kid,” Feeley said.
BDN writer Ryan McLaughlin contributed to this report.