Brewer may force couple from basement of burned home

An Eastern Avenue family forced to live in the basement of their burned home for about two years may be forced to leave by the Brewer City Council after a hearing Tuesday night.

The council had given Charles E. Witham Jr. and Ethel L. Dunbar permission to live in the basement portion of the home while renovations were done, but after obtaining permission, little or no work had been done to rebuild the home, officials said Sunday night.

Neighbors had called several councilors to complain that no work apparently was being done. Councilor Gerald Robertson said that the council had approved the living arrangement last year with the provision that insurance be obtained by the families. The temporary occupancy allowed by the council was due to expire at the end of May, Robertson said.

“He is living there in violation, if it were not for a special agreement,” Robertson said. “We had hopes he would fulfill his part of the agreement.”

Councilor Larry Doughty said that he too had received many calls from neighbors of Witham and that a hearing would be in order. “I want to hear it out, and I don’t want to just kick the guy out arbitrarily,” Doughty said.

Witham had sued Brewer officials citing a lack of water in the hydrant system at the time of his house fire. The Brewer Water District was modernizing the water distribution system at the time and Witham claimed that the hydrant near his home was inoperable when the house caught fire.

The Witham claim was dismissed from Penobscot County Superior Court last week, according to city officials.