Second St. George electrical fire in one week razes art studio

ST. GEORGE – The cause of a second house fire in one week was nearly the same as the first – electrical.

The Tuesday night fire at a seasonal art studio on Port Clyde Road appears to be caused by electrical wiring, Fire Chief Tim Polky said Thursday, noting the wiring is 30 years old.

The 26-foot-by-32-foot two-story building near the Baptist church on Route 131 was heavily damaged by the 5 p.m. fire. There was also extensive smoke and water damage.

On Nov. 30, fire destroyed a house at 43 Wallston Road, leaving a family of three homeless. That fire was caused by an electrical heater.

As in the Wallston Road fire, the Port Clyde Road blaze took the lives of two pets.

Fisherman Anthony Hooper, 25, and Jessica Morris, 18, were living in an apartment in the studio for the winter, Polky had said. He did not know where they are staying now, but said they have family in town.

The fire damaged a storage area and destroyed a shed, but the main building appears to be structurally sound, Polky said.

Polky estimated the cost to repair the building at $100,000 and noted the contents of the building were worth about $60,000, including the couple’s belongings.

According to a town clerk, the building is assessed at $89,000 and the land at $15,400.

An insurance investigator for owner Jeannette Martin of Belmont, Mass., inspected the damage and came up with the same suspected cause, Polky said. Martin is an artist and uses the building in the summer as a studio.