To the Editor:
We, the tenants of historic Lincoln Hall, want to say a hearty thank you to all the emergency responders, starting with Damariscotta Fire Chief Neil Genthner, the fire department and the police who rushed to Lincoln Theater in the early hours of last Friday morning in response to a call from North East Security alerting them to the fact a fire sprinkler had been activated. Indeed it had, in the men’s restroom.
Exactly why has yet to be determined as there was no evidence of fire, but what a mess – ceiling, wall and floor damage all the way to the basement, boiler room problems, incapacitated elevator, shorted out security panel and the telephones were knocked out.
Once the sprinkler system was deactivated, the firemen were constantly helpful and remarkably good spirited, even when they had to be recalled twice after having packed up and gone home, due to renewed worries about electrical fires. Not only did they minimize the physical damage to our wonderful theater and helped to mop up, they made a highly stressful situation much less stressful. We’re honored to have them serve our community.
Additionally, we have to thank North East Security; High Tech Fire Protection; Pine State Elevator Co.; the team from ServPro (Fire & Water – Clean Up & Restoration) and MidCoast Energy Systems, all of whom were on site within two hours, some coming from as far as Portland. By 8 a.m. everything was under control, largely cleaned up, and all the greatest issues were being aggressively addressed; all with total professionalism and good spirit.
It was a truly heartening performance, which fact we want to acknowledge. By Monday evening, Lincoln Theater was back in business – mildly disheveled, but happy to be so.
Andrew Fenniman,
Lincoln Theater
Susan & Barnaby Porter,
Maine Coast Book Shop
Damariscotta
