By J.W. Oliver
A fire started by a cigarette destroyed an apartment at 3 Hendrick’s Hill Rd. in Southport early May 6.
Flames engulf an apartment in Southport early Tuesday, May 6. (Photo courtesy Joe Jacobs) |
Southport Fire Chief Gerald Gamage said the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated and ruled the cause “smoking in bed.”
A female resident of the apartment sustained a minor burn and received treatment from the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service before going to the St. Andrews Urgent Care Center, Gamage said. There were no other injuries.
The apartment was part of a duplex. “We actually saved one of the two apartments, but I suspect they’re probably going to tear it down,” Gamage said. “The other apartment was completely destroyed.”
The duplex is across from Robinson’s Wharf and near the Boothbay Harbor-Southport bridge. David Winslow, proprietor of Robinson’s Wharf, owns the duplex, Gamage said. The building was insured.
The Southport Fire Department was paged to the fire at about 4:15 a.m., Gamage said. The Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor fire departments also responded to the scene.
The Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor trucks could not reach the scene due to a hanging electrical line. “The service cable to the building didn’t completely fall in the road, but it was hanging down in the road enough that we couldn’t get engines by it,” Gamage said.
The Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor trucks were able to use a deck gun to pour water on the fire from the bridge, which “worked fine,” Gamage said.
Most firefighters cleared the scene by 7 a.m., while a few remained “to wait for the fire marshal and help him dig it out,” Gamage said. The smaller group cleared the scene around noon.
Firefighters inspect the remains of an apartment in Southport, Tuesday, May 6. (Photo courtesy Joe Jacobs) |
The fire represented a couple of firsts for Southport Fire, Gamage said. The department has a relatively new truck with a compressed air foam system and a deck gun.
The fire was the first structure fire the department has fought with this truck and the first fire it has fought with a hydrant. The island has just two fire hydrants – one by Nickerson Road and one by Robinson’s Wharf.
Joe Jacobs witnessed the fire. Jacobs tends the Boothbay Harbor-Southport bridge for the Maine Department of Transportation.
Jacobs was sitting in the bridgetender’s room on the bridge at about 4-4:15 a.m. when he “heard crying and screaming, and thought somebody was tipped over in a boat or something,” he said.
He ran out onto the bridge to grab a life ring and saw a young couple sitting at the end of the bridge. The couple was hysterical, he said.
Jacobs could see a flame the size of a campfire through the windows of the duplex. A man exited the house, and shortly thereafter, two large windows burst. Within 60 seconds, the whole house was in flames, Jacobs said.
Jacobs called 911 and woke up a neighbor to get them out of their house.
The firefighters were highly organized and professional, Jacobs said. “They were an amazing group.”
Jacobs was astounded at the speed with which the flames devoured the house. “My suggestion, after seeing that, is to install smoke alarms and make sure they’re working,” he said.
Gamage, the Southport fire chief, praised Jacobs for an “exceptional job” to make sure people were out of their houses. The bridgetender “went above and beyond to ensure safety,” he said.
