HANCOCK – An apartment fire at the White Birches Country Club on Saturday morning slightly injured a tenant and caused all others to be evacuated.

A ceiling fan apparently overheated in the bathroom of a long-time apartment tenant around 5 a.m., according to White Birches general manager Cindy White.

“The tenant went in her bathroom, and clothes that were hanging on the shower curtain rod were on fire. She burned one finger – got a good burn on it,” White said Sunday.

The White Birches is closed seasonally other than for weekly rentals and the apartments, White said.

Firefighters from the Ellsworth Fire Department were the first on the scene, followed by firefighters from Hancock, Franklin, Sorrento, Sullivan and Lamoine, said Chief Chris Holmes of the Hancock Fire Department. Altogether more than 50 firefighters came to the White Birches, although the fire did not turn out to be as severe as officials feared at first, Holmes said.

“Where it was such a large building, we wanted to have enough manpower,” he said. “By the time some of the other towns had arrived, it was contained to just that room. It could have been a lot worse.”

There also was some smoke damage in the adjacent room.

All residents of the White Birches apartments evacuated their apartments and rooms on Saturday and moved into the hotel across the street while the hotel is cleaned.

They’ll be able to move back into their rooms today, White said.

“We are going to be open and operating. Our plans are to continue on with the Thanksgiving buffet,” she said.

acurtis@bangordailynews.net

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