A house on Union Street in Bangor that burned in December, killing three men, was demolished this week.
All that was left of the home at 194-196 Union St. by Wednesday morning was a pile of rubble as a bulldozer scooped debris and deposited it into a dumpster.
The building, which sat on a duplex lot, had code violations dating back to the 1990s before the city condemned it in March 2017 for lacking heat and hot water.
People sought shelter there after the city cleared a homeless encampment under the Interstate 395 overpass last December.
Dylan Smith, Andrew Allen and Tim Tuttle died in the blaze, which started in the early morning hours of Dec. 5. All three were homeless, according to members of Bangor’s homeless community and Smith’s aunt. Two other people escaped with injuries.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the state fire marshal’s office.
A spokesperson for the state fire marshal’s office did not immediately respond to a question about whether the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Texas lender Mr. Cooper seized the property in October 2017 after the previous owner fell behind on mortgage payments.
Bangor code enforcement director Jeff Wallace said his staff had to board up the house three times since the fire, most recently on March 20, after people broke into the building.