PORTLAND — A blaze on Portland’s waterfront Friday night destroyed one business and significantly damaged another as well as boats docked at Custom House Wharf in the Old Port.
People on Casco Bay Lines ferries saw the flames on Custom House Wharf and called the Portland Fire Department around 5:30 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief John Hendricks said during a news conference later Friday night.
The fire appeared to originate in a boat repair shop but the cause was unknown Friday night, Hendricks said. The fire spread from the shop to the roof of the adjacent Maritime Antiques store at 27 Custom House Wharf and also damaged the Sea Bags Factory Store at 25 Custom House Wharf.
Smoke billowed from the building and was seen over the harbor in South Portland.
Crews attacked the fire from the water and from the roof of Maritime Antiques and the repair shop.
“The fireboat quickly came right over and started deploying master streams from the harbor,” Hendricks said.
The fireboat was of great assistance, Hendricks said, especially as frozen hydrants near the waterfront burst, flooding about half the wharf. The deputy chief said firefighters on the ground battled not only the fire, but also icy conditions and navigated nearly a foot of water in the fire area.
Electricity in the area was shut off to keep the fire from spreading and for the safety of firefighters, Hendricks said.
Firefighters attacking the flames from the roof of Maritime Antiques were called off after a huge burst of flames erupted. Minutes later the roof collapsed, sending a plume of smoke down the wharf toward Commercial Street.
“Given the age of the structures and obviously, the potential of fire spread down here, everybody did a really great job to work really hard to stop the fire where we did,” Hendricks said.
Bystanders gave thanks to firefighters who took turns running hoses the length of the wharf from trucks along Commercial Street. Two civilians provided cups of hot chocolate.
Firefighters had the blaze under control by 7:30 p.m. and crews slowly trickled out from the scene, lugging hoses as they sloshed through water up to the tops of their boots.
“I know a number of guys have wet feet tonight,” Hendricks said. “They’re going back to the station to get new socks and warm up and be ready for the rest of the shift.”
One firefighter sustained a minor injury, the deputy chief said, but there were no other injuries reported.
By 9 p.m., all that could be heard from what had recently been a chaotic wharf was the humming of remaining vehicles on scene and firefighters and investigators shuffling their feet to keep warm. The half-flooded wharf was already beginning to freeze over.
The repair shop was a pile of debris, and the roof of the antique shop rested on its floor. Sea Bags also received some damage, Hendricks said. During the attack, hoses could be seen running through that business.
Multiple boats near the wharf were damaged as well.
“A number of boats that were slipped on that side of the building did sustain some minor damage,” Hendricks said. “I believe one boat may have sunk, unfortunately.”
Custom House Wharf is also home to well-known seafood restaurants such as Harbor Fish Market, Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room, and The Porthole.
Members of the Office of the State Fire Marshal were on scene and conducted a preliminary investigation. Hendricks said they will resume their investigation Saturday but noted it could take time to determine the cause of the fire due to the extent of the damage.
About 45 members of the Portland Fire Department were on scene, Hendricks said, and additional personnel from Westbrook, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth also responded.
Including Falmouth and other neighboring fire departments covering Portland’s stations during the blaze, Hendricks said nearly 100 firefighters in Greater Portland were activated.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Drew Johnson can be reached at djohnson@metln.org.