Fire levels 2 Lincoln buildings 4 Main Street businesses lost

loading...

LINCOLN – One of the worst fires in the history of this 173-year-old Penobscot County town destroyed two Main Street buildings Thursday, wiping out four businesses and leaving two people homeless.

No one was injured directly by the fire, but a Medway firefighter was hospitalized when a piece of equipment holding a hose broke free and hit him in the chest.Mark Grant of Medway was treated at Penobscot Valley Hospital and later released.

Lincoln Fire Chief Bill Lee said the cause of the fire, which was reported at 8:12 a.m., remained under investigation. Investigators Ed Archer and Scott Richardson from the state Fire Marshal’s Office began collecting information Thursday and will continue their investigation today after any hot spots are extinguished.

The two-story wooden buildings, which date back to the early part of the last century, were located at the south end of Main Street and were attached at one wall. One of the buildings, at 25 Main St., used to contain a bowling alley and roller-skating rink. Each structure housed two businesses and one featured a small apartment. The apartment residents were not home at the time of the fire.

Lee said it appeared the fire started in the Nice Twice business, a secondhand store, tanning salon and UPS service center located on the first floor of the building at 27 Main St.

“The fire had already blown out front windows and it was fully engulfed in fire,” said Lee describing the scene when he first arrived. “They [flames] were coming up and rolling over the porch roof.”

Flames quickly spread through both buildings.

Clouds of smoke from the fire could be seen for miles. Flames shot into the air, some 40 and 50 feet high. Dozens of people lined Main Street, watching in disbelief as the fire raged and more than 70 firefighters from six area departments fought to save the structures. Despite those efforts, the roofs eventually caved in and then the walls came crashing down.

Officials estimated damage in tens of thousands of dollars. Some business owners had insurance, but others did not.

Firefighters saved a nearby business building owned by Harry Epp, located about 12 feet away.

The buildings owned by Natalie Parent and Steve Ruhl were a total loss. Ruhl, the owner of Ruhl’s Photographic and Lakeside Art Gallery, shook his head as he watched the fire devour a business he had worked for three years to build. He has insurance.

“I can’t believe it,” said Ruhl. “It was such a beautiful old building. I don’t know what to do at this point.”

Ruhl said the building he purchased from the town in 1998 had much historic value. “You can’t replace the old roller-skating rink floors or the old bowling alley lanes,” he said. “How do you ever replace 6,000 square feet of 1938 wooden floors and the old tin ceilings? It’s more of a sense of loss of a historic building that was important to many people.”

As Ruhl drove to work Thursday morning he noticed the large clouds of smoke. While it looked like the smoke was coming from his building he hoped that wasn’t the case.

“We were able to get some things out before fire officials ordered us out,” said Ruhl. A small group of friends and residents helped him remove some items from the building.

Ruhl rented space in his building to Kim Bernier, owner of Gatherings For the Home, a gift shop specializing in dried flowers and home decorating accents.

“She [Bernier] was doing really well and she lost everything,” said Ruhl.

Bernier had tears in her eyes as she stood across the street watching the fire. She opened her business on Sept. 13, 2001. She has insurance.

“Usually I’m there early, but not today,” said Bernier. A friend called to tell her about the fire.

Natalie Parent, owner of 27 Main St., which housed two businesses and an apartment, said she has insurance on the building. Parent lost her business, the Harvest Moon, a sign shop and antiques and craft shop she operated with her sister, Suzette Worster of Lincoln. Parent said she and her sister have a small insurance policy for the contents of their business.

“We have worked so hard,” said Parent as she stood across the street from the fire.

“We don’t know what we are going to do,” said Worster.

Susan Moore, the owner of Nice Twice who rents space from Parent, also lost everything. She has no insurance.

Cindy Cronin and her 17-year-old son, Anthony Harris, who lived in an apartment in Parent’s building, also lost everything they owned. Cronin, a teacher, was at work in Island Falls and her son had left for school when the fire broke out. She has no insurance.

The Lincoln fire chief said he expected fire crews would work at least until midnight to extinguish the fire completely.

“We are still extinguishing a lot of hot spots,” said Lee early Thursday evening. “We have an excavator on the scene helping us to dig the fire out. It is just too dangerous to send personnel in. The only way we are going to be able to extinguish this fire is by digging it out.”

Lee said he had no idea of the total damage amount, but said it would be great. The two buildings and land alone carry an assessed value of more than $105,000, according to town records.

“This is a big setback for Main Street development,” said Lincoln Town Manager Glenn Aho during a telephone interview.

“It leaves you with a sick feeling of what these business owners must be going through,” said Aho. “To go through a sudden loss like this must be extremely stressful.”

Aho was on his way to Augusta to meet with the Senate chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee to seek development funds when he learned about the devastating fire.

Linda Corey, the town’s economic development director, described the loss of four businesses as a terrible ordeal. “We will work with the owners and help them all we can … whether it’s rebuilding or relocating,” said Corey. “Although this is a setback for Main Street, we will make it through this together,” Corey said.

Aho agreed. “We are going to move forward and do what we can for them.”

The manager, who listened to Fire Department radio traffic as he drove, said he was proud of them. “They did everything they could do,” said Aho. “The structures were very old and very dry. A fire in any one of them could put the whole block in jeopardy. I’m glad that they stopped the fire. It could have been worse.”

Lee said it was difficult to fight the fire because of the many voids in the rebuilt and refurbished buildings. “One building had metal ceilings making it difficult for us to gain access to it,” said Lee. He said many older buildings had no fire stops, allowing fire to spread quickly.

One big plus for firefighters was lack of wind. “Had there been a wind, it really would have created a lot of havoc for us,” said Lee.

Aho and Lee commended the efforts of Lincoln firefighters and said they were grateful to the towns of Howland, Lee, Mattawamkeag, East Millinocket and Medway, which sent firefighting crews to assist.

“Most local fire departments are now faced with a manpower shortage so we rely a lot on each other. We are fortunate they are willing to lend a hand at a moment’s notice,” Lee said.

Police blocked off Main Street all day and through the night. Police Chief Richard Mayo said he expected Main Street to be open to traffic today.

Several Main Street businesses donated food and drinks to firefighters and KFI, a nonprofit organization that assists the mentally challenged, offered shelter to anyone who needed it.