PORTLAND, Maine — The memorial honoring the six victims of the deadly Noyes Street fire was taken down Saturday.
The city allowed organizers to hang six lighted sculptures for 90 days in Longfellow Park, a block away from the scene of the fire. Some people has voiced concerns about the memorial because of the brightness of the lights.
The artist who created the Stars Of Light memorial on Saturday removed it.
“The coming down of it does not erase anything,” artist Pandora Lacasse said. “It doesn’t erase what this stood for.”
“Hopefully, in the springtime, we’ll be talking more about putting a permanent structure in here,” Louie Thomas, the father of one of the victims, said. “Our daughter Ashley Thomas was one of the six that perished in the fire and just to have some place that we can come and reflect on Ashley, it was nice.”
The fire that broke out at 20-24 Noyes St. on the morning of Nov. 1, 2014, claimed the lives of tenants Thomas; David Bragdon, 27; and Nicole “Nikki” Finlay, 26. Maelisha Jackson, 26; Christopher “Miles” Conlee, 25; and Steven Summers, 29, were visiting the apartment.
Summers, a Rockland resident, died Nov. 3, 2014, in Massachusetts General Hospital as a result of injuries sustained during the fire.
The fire is considered one of the deadliest in Maine history.