Brewer fire destroys interior of apartment

BREWER – An early Tuesday morning fire at a low-income housing complex caused minimal structural damage, but extensive interior damage, according to Brewer Fire Chief Richard Bronson.

“That individual apartment as far as the contents and the decoration is pretty much totaled,” the chief said. “Structurally the damage is very limited.”

Brewer Fire Department got the call at 1:21 a.m. to respond to Apartment 301 in the E. Charles Dartnell Apartments on Beacon Street where they found “a working structure fire in that apartment,” said Bronson.

The Dartnell Apartments are part of the Brewer Housing Authority’s list of property.

Three people were in the apartment, rented by Verna Burgess, when the fire broke out. Burgess, her grandson Larry Burgess and Tina Bubar all escaped the apartment without injury.

An overstuffed chair was determined to be the starting point of the fire.

“As of right now or until we prove otherwise, it [the cause of the fire] is believed to be careless handing of smoking materials in an oversized chair,” Bronson said.

Research has shown that dropped smoking materials, such as tobacco, in an overstuffed chair can smolder for 45 minutes to eight hours before flames appear, Bronson said.

“That time window fits what has been going on there,” he said.

Along with Brewer, Holden Fire Department responded to the scene with an engine and cascade or air unit. The fire was extinguished quickly.