Firefighter, husband charged with arson> Late-night fire destroys abandoned convenience store in Medway

MEDWAY – A volunteer firefighter and her husband face arson charges in connection with a fire Thursday evening that gutted an abandoned convenience store on the corner of Routes 11 and 157.

Heidi Carey, 23, of Millinocket, a volunteer firefighter with the Medway Fire Department, and her husband, James Carey, 36, were each charged by the State Fire Marshal’s Office on Friday after interviews at the scene of the late-night blaze.

Heidi Carey was among the firefighters who went to the 9:30 p.m. fire, according to Sgt. Stewart Jacobs, fire investigation supervisor at the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

“The investigation doesn’t appear to involve any other people,” said Jacobs, adding that a common motive among firefighters for starting fires is for excitement or financial compensation.

Heidi Carey was being transferred to the Penobscot County Jail Friday night on the sole arson charge, a felony that carries with it a maximum of 40 years in prison.

James Carey was summoned to appear in Millinocket District Court.

Investigators on Friday combed through the rubble left by the blaze, which burned into the early morning hours and drew firefighters from Medway and two surrounding towns.

The two-story concrete and wooden building, which had also included apartments, had been empty for several years, according to Medway Fire Chief Peter Noddin.

Noddin said the rear of the structure was in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene at about 9:30 p.m.

“There was just more fire than we had water for,” said Noddin, adding that two departments repeatedly emptied their tanker trucks in an attempt to contain the blaze. “We just had to fall back, let it burn and protect any nearby buildings.”

The property was abandoned in December 1998 to the Internal Revenue Service, which holds about $340,000 in liens on the property. The building, which had been owned by Mannix Oil Co., was valued at about $102,000, according to documents filed in the U.S Bankruptcy Court in Bangor. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1992.

Over the years, several tenants had occupied the building, including a restaurant, a convenience store and a pizza shop, Noddin said.

The building had been vacant since about 1995, according to the fire chief, who said he believed sewer problems caused the closure.

There was no electricity connected to the building.

Investigators on Friday would not say if accelerants, such as gasoline, were used to start the fire.

Crews from Medway, East Millinocket and Mattawamkeag were called to the blaze, with the last firefighters leaving the scene at about 3 a.m., according to the chief.

There were no injuries.