PATTEN – A fast-moving fire demolished a three-story apartment house on Main Street on Sunday, leaving seven families without homes and prompting officials to cut electrical power to the entire town for several hours for safety reasons.

All of the tenants escaped the fire but lost most of their belongings. A few were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, according to Patten Fire Chief John Roy. A few kittens owned by the tenants were believed to have died in the fire.

The cause of the blaze is unknown but it is not considered suspicious, Roy said Sunday. He said he had called the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Firefighters were notified of the fire at 8:09 a.m. after a tenant discovered the fire on the first floor and went outside yelling for help, Roy said.

After arriving on the scene, firefighters were preparing to enter the first floor of the building when an oxygen tank exploded and blew out the building’s front windows, Roy said. The tank belonged to the first-floor tenant who had yelled for help.

“It was a hard fire to fight because the building was remodeled several times with false walls,” Roy.

He was pleased, however, with the quick response from several surrounding fire departments, including the Houlton Fire Department.

The Houlton department responded with a ladder truck that helped prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings.

“We surely appreciated all the help,” Roy said.

Because there were high-tension electrical lines near the apartment building, the power to the entire community of about 1,000 was shut off but was restored by late afternoon, according to Roy. That was to protect the firefighters, he said.

Roy said the building, which also had an antique store and an office on the first floor, was owned by a man who was working in Iraq. He did not know the owner’s name or whether the building was insured. He said the third story of the building had been an unoccupied attic.

The tenants are being aided by the American Red Cross. Roy said some of the tenants were staying with families in the area while others were being housed at local motels. All of their belongings were lost, he said.

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