RUMFORD – A fire that claimed the life of a young boy and critically injured two others was traced to an unattended candle.
Combustibles near the candle caught fire, and the blaze spread quickly from there, engulfing the third floor where the boy’s body was found, Rumford fire Chief John Woufe III said.
An autopsy Monday determined that the boy died from smoke inhalation, but the victim’s identity was not released, according to a spokeswoman for the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta.
When firefighters arrived Saturday morning, they saw two individuals yelling and hanging out of a window.
The severely injured pair were identified as Sara Morris, 18, and Adam Richard, 25. One of them fell or jumped from the third floor, Woulfe said. They suffered burns over 80 percent of their bodies and were taken by helicopter from the scene. They were listed in critical condition at a Boston hospital.
Fire officials appeared to have trouble getting ladders to reach the upper floors at the back of the building, said Rick Burgess, who lives near the burned building and was walking his dog when the fire trucks arrived.
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