A fire, contained to one apartment in this Van Buren 16-unit complex, sent a woman to Maine Medical Center in Portland on Sunday with serious injuries. Credit: Courtesy of the Maine Department of Public Safety

A Van Buren woman was taken by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center in Portland following a Sunday fire in her apartment, officials said. 

Cynthia Loux, 73, a resident of a 16-unit apartment building on Roosevelt Avenue, was found inside her apartment by firefighters late Sunday afternoon. 

The woman suffered serious injuries, including burns covering about 40% of her body and smoke inhalation, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Aaron Turcotte said Monday.

Firefighters found that the fire was contained in the woman’s apartment because the building’s automatic sprinkler system activated, preventing it from spreading to other areas of the structure, Turcotte said. 

State fire marshals were on site Monday and ruled that the fire originated on the stove in her kitchen. The fire is being classified as accidental, according to Turcotte.

Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli is a reporter covering the Houlton area. Over the years, she has covered crime, investigations, health, politics and local government, writing for the Washington Post, the LA...