Firefighters are still on scene hours after a large fire ripped through a business in Winslow. The fire is at McCormack Building Supply on Lithgow Street. It started around 11:50 a.m.
The flames spread quickly and sent black smoke into the air that people could see for miles. According to Winslow fire officials, the building was evacuated and no one was injured.
Lithgow Street is shut down, but emergency crews say this fire has impacted a wider area and they are still addressing hotspots.
A look at the fire at McCormack Building Supply. Some buildings are a total loss. You can see one building in a heap of fire. pic.twitter.com/5wyJ7aWgRU
— Taylor Cairns (@TaylorWGME) October 11, 2019
“The accountability for personnel that worked here was conducted and nobody was hurt,” said Winslow Fire Chief Robbie Rodriguez.
Locals say they can’t believe something like this happened.
“This place has been around, and it’s like damn, another historical monument is gone, you know?,” said Rick Joller, a Winslow resident.
“It’s sad for the people who lost their jobs temporarily, hopefully, and hope it all ends well,” said Ron Matthew, a Winslow resident.
Firefighters contained the fire into the main building on the property, which they said was a total loss.
The fire personnel set up hose lines on closed roads to spray different sections of the property. They say there was a high risk of contamination going into the air from the supplies in the building.
“My primary concern was to protect the environment from whatever materials were in the building, which the Maine DEP is on scene assisting with us,” said Rodriguez.
An excavator was brought in to help knock down the rest of the building and fire crews say five different departments responded, which allowed them to contain the flames and what could have been a larger disaster.
“For this resident right next door, they’re going to be able to occupy their house,” said Rodriguez. “Heroic efforts from the members of all the departments to surround this thing and protect the exposures.”
Members of the state fire marshals office are on scene to investigate the cause of the fire.
Crews say they will be out here a couple more hours to address hot spots.
This story will be updated.