This story has been updated.
Firefighters searched a vacant house in Bangor that burned after a suspected propane gas explosion early Monday morning but found no one inside.
The building at 75 Fourth St. was initially reported to have people trapped inside after fire was reported at 5:45 a.m., the state fire marshal’s office said in a news release.
A witness told officials they helped a person who was dangling from a second-story window. That person said their friend was inside the house before running away, Bangor Fire Chief Geoffrey Low said on Monday morning.
Firefighters had only been able to do a limited search of the building because parts of the floor collapsed and other sections weren’t stable, Low said.
The fire marshal’s office later reported that a man who was in the house at the time of the fire escaped but suffered serious burns. He was brought to a Bangor hospital and was expected to be transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland for further treatment.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
After a preliminary investigation, the fire marshal’s office said a propane gas explosion was the likely cause of the fire. The Maine Fuel Board was called in to help with the investigation.
The house was added to the city’s vacant and placarded lists in December, city spokesperson David Warren said, and the fire marshal’s office confirmed that the house was condemned.
A vacant house at 67 Lincoln St. burned Dec. 3, 2024. Firefighters did not find anyone inside the home during a search. The man who owns that house owns four other vacant properties and an empty lot in the city.
BDN writers Kathleen O’Brien and Ethan Andrews contributed to this report.