Web site on buildings to ‘explore’ draws police criticism

BANGOR – One man’s “urban exploration” is another man’s breaking and entering, say local police. They’re not amused by an anonymously hosted Web site promoting the entering and exploration of abandoned buildings, storm-water drains, culverts and other area “attractions.”

The Bangor Explorer’s Guild site features photographs and descriptions of such off-limits places as an abandoned textile plant in Orono, a bomb shelter in the Old Town woods and a “stormwater/sewage overflow” drain near the federal building in Bangor. More familiar sites include the Bangor Waterworks complex, an old hydropower plant in Orono and the Dakins building in downtown Bangor.

Most descriptions include a way to enter the site – often through holes broken in boarded-up doors or windows. Explorers are guided through chambers and tunnels, cautioned against rotten floors, rusted machinery and suddenly erupting sewage drains.

Although he was unaware of the Web site, Bangor Deputy Police Chief Peter Arno said the allure of off-the-beaten-path places is no excuse for breaking the law. “If the interest of these groups is to break into buildings for excitement, we’d treat it like any other crime,” Arno said.

Bangor Public Works director Arthur Stockus said he’s heard rumors that people like to explore the drains and culverts in the city but hasn’t had a problem with it. “It’s an awfully dangerous place to play,” he observed, warning that such places can be lethal due to suddenly rising water and pockets of poisonous gases. Also, he said, any city has large rats populating dark, underground places, and Bangor is no exception.

In Orono, Police Captain Linwood Green said he can’t understand why someone would be drawn to such unpleasant and dangerous places. “That power plant has so much pigeon poop on the floor, it’s just like a skating rink,” he said. “If you want to explore, go explore someplace outside … It’s just a matter of time before a kid gets trapped somewhere and dies.”

The Bangor Explorers Guild Web site includes links to other urban exploration groups as far flung as Australia, Chicago and Newfoundland. It also contains a link to the Bangor Daily News Web site, but points out that the paper’s online version does not include tide charts. Tides could affect access to some of the locations.

BEG accepts no responsibility for injuries or legal difficulties incurred as a result of its Web site, and does not include any working e-mail, phone or other contacts.