The Rumford Meteor » Save The Basement

Rumford Fire Department’s Save The Mower Blade Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:19:05 +0000

RUMFORD — Rumford and Mexico firefighters were sent to a tractor and structure fire on Route 2 late Saturday afternoon. But when they arrived, the tractor, a small riding lawnmower, had been pulled away from a garage at 1086 Route 2 and flames on the garage wall were extinguished. No one was injured. Damage to the garage was minimal, but the riding lawnmower was destroyed, said Deputy Chief Chris Bryant of the Rumford Fire Department. The fire departments and Med-Care ambulance were called out at 5:23 p.m. when a passer-by spotted the fire. Bryant said the tenant, Al White, “got done mowing the lawn, set (the mower) by the garage and went into the house, and then a passer-by stopped by and said his tractor was on fire.” (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Canton Fire Department’s Save The Rims Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:16:10 +0000

Fire destroyed this 2000 GMC pickup truck owned by Robert Ouellette of 4 Golden Pond Road off Route 140 in Canton early Friday afternoon. Ouellette said he was working near it and getting ready to work on the truck when flames suddenly erupted in the back of it. Firefighters from Canton, Dixfield and Peru extinguished the fire. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Waldoboro Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Would Have Worked Like A Charm If Barns Had Basements

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:07:36 +0000

WALDOBORO, Maine — A fire of undetermined origin destroyed a barn and its contents on Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries in the fire, which occurred in Donald Lee’s barn on Friendship Street in Waldoboro. The state fire marshal will inspect the rubble on Monday, Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer said at the scene of the blaze. The fire is not considered suspicious but he said determining the cause may not be possible because of the extent of damage. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

West Gardiner Selectman Figure Three Months Is Long Enough To Wait For The Fire Chief To Parallel Park The Fire Engine

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:41:09 +0000

WEST GARDINER — The Board of Selectmen has dismissed the town’s first female fire chief less than three months into the job, saying she did not meet requirements of a settlement with the town. Vicki Dill became chief of the volunteer Fire Department in February after signing a settlement to resolve complaints that the town previously had refused to appoint her as chief in 2009 because she’s a woman. The West Gardiner Firemen’s Association elected Dill as fire chief in 2009, but selectmen intervened and chose the third-place candidate. Gary Hickey, a volunteer firefighter for West Gardiner, said he doesn’t think Dill has attempted to improve her firefighting skills since the selectmen chose another candidate over her four years ago. “The association’s not a huge fan of her,” Hickey said. “The town had to do what they had to do, but the association’s not a huge fan. She burned a lot of bridges, and people are starting to see that.” (read more at Kennebec Journal)

Lewiston Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Works Like A Charm. Again

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:05:09 +0000

LEWISTON, Maine — Fire destroyed two vacant Bartlett Street buildings that were being remodeled on Monday morning and damaged a third apartment building on Horton Street. It was the third major fire in a week in Lewiston’s downtown. Firefighters were called at 2:46 a.m. and arrived to find the backs of all three buildings — 114 Bartlett, 118 Bartlett and 91 Horton — in flames. The three properties are separated by a small courtyard. “Given the intensity of what they found, I could understand how fire could jump,” said Fire Chief Paul LeClair. “This one really spread very quickly, much like the Friday night fire.” The immediate concern was making sure it didn’t spread to neighboring properties, he said. The fire was under control by 7 a.m. There were no injuries, although some firefighters reported dehydration and overexertion. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Norway Fire Department’s Save The Keel Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:55:12 +0000

HARTFORD — A Hartford man was badly injured early Friday morning when he lost control of his Jeep on Route 140 and it rolled over several times. Jason Farrar, 27, was driving his 2004 Jeep Cherokee northbound when the accident occurred, according to Deputy Chris Davis of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. He said speed appeared to be a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation. Davis said a nearby resident heard the crash and called 911. He said Farrar was “badly injured” and responders from the Buckfield and Paris fire departments had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out of the vehicle. Farrar was transported to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with multiple injuries. Later in the morning, firefighters from Norway and Paris responded to a vehicle on fire at 30 Alpine St. Farrar’s Jeep, which had been towed to Norway by Russell and Sons Towing and Recovery, had caught fire. The flames spread to a nearby fiberglass boat and destroyed both, according to Norway fire Chief Dennis Yates. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Waterville Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:47:43 +0000

WATERVILLE — Fire tore through the upper floors of a downtown building Friday, damaging two shops on the first floor and leaving three apartment tenants homeless. Firefighters from four departments raced to the scene, where flames were shooting out of third- and fourth-floor windows and fire was ravaging wooden porches and fire escapes on the back of the building. The four-story brick building on lower Main Street houses the tattoo shop INK-4-LIFE as well as Top Dog Wireless. INK-4-LIFE owners Bill and Mona Juliano, both 38, said they think the fire started on a third-floor porch at the rear of the building, where a tenant was cooking on a grill. “Her propane tank blew up,” Bill Juliano said. “It caught fire somehow,” Mona Juliano added. Fire Chief David LaFountain did not confirm that report, but he said all aspects were being investigated and the State Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene, helping to determine the cause of the fire. (read more at Kennebec Journal)

Lewiston Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:42:07 +0000

LEWISTON, Maine — Four apartment houses and a garage were burning late Friday night after a fast-moving fire rousted dozens from their homes. At about 10:15 p.m., a garage behind 149 Bartlett St. went up in flames. Within minutes, the apartment house itself was burning and flames were jumping to nearby tenements, including a building on Pierce Street. “People came running out and they just scattered,” said Scott Vachon, who lives near the burning buildings. “People were screaming, ‘fire, fire!’ Mothers were screaming for their children. Other people were just shouting and crying. It was terrible.” Vachon believes the garage was intentionally set on fire. The flames moved unnaturally fast, he said, from one part of the building to another. “The fire just kept climbing and climbing,” he said. “It caught the building on fire and it just lit right up.” By early Saturday, one minor injury was reported. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Lewiston Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Works Like A Charm. Er, Basements

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:10:54 +0000

LEWISTON, Maine — Three multistory apartment buildings in the downtown area were destroyed in a fire late Monday afternoon that left 75 people homeless but caused no apparent injuries, officials said. The fire started in a condemned three-story building at 105 Blake St. just before 4:30 p.m. and spread to two neighboring three-story buildings at 172 Bates St. and 82 Pine St. Thick smoke filled the city block, engulfing buildings, including Saints Peter and Paul Basilica on Ash Street. Every building in the block was evacuated and hundreds of people lined nearby streets to watch the firefighting activity. Jessica Ramsey-Nguyen said she was with her 5-day-old baby in their third-floor apartment at 105 Blake St. when she heard a loud bang, smelled smoke and went to the kitchen to see flames and smoke coming in the window. “I grabbed my baby and left,” she said. Her dog perished in the blaze, she said. Within minutes the fire jumped to the back of 172 Bates St., and on to nearby lawns. According to firefighters, the roof at 82 Pine St. caught fire just after 5 p.m. and smoke rolled out of the third floor minutes later, with the fire quickly spreading through the building. By 7 p.m., the roof and some interior floors had collapsed. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Monmouth Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Would Have Worked Like A Charm If Mobile Homes Had Basements

Aubuchon Connery — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:58:10 +0000

MONMOUTH — The exact cause of a fire that destroyed a Back Street home Monday probably will remain a mystery. Monmouth Fire Chief Dan Roy said damage caused by the fire makes it impossible to pinpoint what caused the fire at 81 Back St. “At this time there is no evidence to suggest the cause of the fire was anything other than accidental,” Roy said. Investigator Mary MacMaster of the State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire originated near the rear hallway, Roy said. An oil-fired hot-air furnace and a window-mounted pellet stove were in that area. “Both heating appliances were in operation at the time of the incident,” Roy said. “The extensive damage precludes ruling in or ruling out either of the heating appliances.” (read more at Kennebec Journal)