GARDINER — Fire officials say a building badly damaged by fire last week is no longer a threat to the public.
Fire Chief Al Nelson said Sunday that the building at 235 Water St., was taken down partially Friday to prevent debris from falling. The move allowed officials to reopen Water Street by Saturday morning.
“At this point, as far as the building, it’s up to the owner and the insurance company,” Nelson said, adding that Gardiner Main Street Program and state historical officials also are weighing in. “They want to save the historical features of the building.”
State Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas said Friday that his office was trying to contact five people who reportedly lived in the building but had yet to be interviewed by investigators. Thomas said three of those people – Darren Jones, Robert Gagnon and Lisa Moore, who lived in apartments 7, 8, and 10, respectively – have been spotted in the community since the fire.
However, Thomas said Friday, there had been no contact with two other residents – Kerry Davis, of apartment 11, and Sean Smith, apartment 12 – leading initially to fears that one or both might have been buried under rubble in the building.
Nelson said Sunday that he didn’t know whether fire investigators had talked to any of the missing residents, but he said a search of the building turned up no human remains.
Attempts to reach Thomas on Sunday were unsuccessful.
“Never say never,” Nelson said, “but we are reasonably sure, at this pint, that there’s no one left in the building.”
The fire, which broke out just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, destroyed the brick building and three others attached to it. Twelve people were left homeless and four people were injured. A man who lived in the building at 235 Water St. was treated overnight at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for smoke inhalation, and three fighters were treated and released after treatment of minor injuries suffered when bricks from the 235 Water St. building fell on them as they fought the fire.
Nelson said Sunday he had talked to the fire chiefs in West Gardiner and Pittston, where the injured men volunteer, and he hoped to reach the firefighters themselves Monday.
“They were, the grand scheme of things, minor injuries, but any injury is one too many,” Nelson said.
Water Street, the heart of the downtown area, was closed to foot and vehicle traffic throughout the day on Friday as crews worked to secure the building. Much of the front of the building remains intact, but the excavator left a large, U-shaped hole in the back of the building.
Nelson said a structural engineer was hired to oversee the stabilization process.
Nelson said crews still have to clean up debris in the back of the building and finish cleaning out the building.
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