BANGOR, Maine — A Bangor business sustained severe fire damage Wednesday night, but firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to a nearby building.
“It was a great stop,” Assistant Fire Chief Darrell Cyr said around midnight, while crews searched for hot spots behind him.
Firefighters were called to 543 Hammond St., home to Rice/Allied Glass, around 10:45 p.m.
Brandy Fielding, who was in a nearby house on Webster Avenue, said she was getting ready for bed when she heard a series of “popping sounds, like firecrackers.” A few minutes later, she smelled smoke and called 911. When she went outside, she saw flames shooting out of the roof and a garage door at the back of the building.
First responders shut down Hammond Street in the area of Webster Avenue for several hours overnight while they fought the fire.
When firefighters arrived, Cyr said the flames shooting out of the garage area were licking at the walls of a home standing just a few feet away on Webster Ave. The heat melted the siding, but crews managed to prevent the fire from spreading.
An apartment that shares a building with Rice/Allied Glass was empty when the fire broke out, but sustained severe smoke and water damage, Cyr said. One person was evacuated from the Webster Avenue house.
The three-alarm fire brought all available crews from Bangor, as well as firefighters from Brewer, Hampden, Hermon and Holden, according to the assistant chief. Orono, Veazie and Glenburn firefighters covered stations for crews that were dispatched to the blaze.
Cyr said the state fire marshal’s office would be notified of the fire and may investigate to determine the cause.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.