WATERVILLE— A man was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after suffering from smoke inhalation in a Mount Pleasant Street apartment fire, according to officials.
The cause of the fire, which damaged a large portion of the back side of the building at 1 Mount Pleasant St. is being investigated by the Waterville Fire Department and the Office of State Fire Marshal. The names of the residents and the owner of the building were unavailable Wednesday night, Waterville Fire Chief David LaFountain said. The city of Waterville online assessor’s database shows that the building belongs to Michael Arlene, of Raymond.
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One man who was home at the time of the fire was taken to the Thayer Center for Health with smoke inhalation, said LaFountain. He said he did not have further information on the man’s condition and wasn’t sure how serious it might be.
The Waterville Fire Department usually does its own investigations but will involve the fire marshal’s office if it is unable to come up with an accident sequence, LaFountain said. He said the department could not immediately identify where the fire started or what the source of heat may have been, although it did not appear suspicious. It was reported around 7 p.m.
The department is also required to report any injuries or deaths from fire that occur to the fire marshal’s office, he said.
Lt. John Gromek, of the Waterville Fire Department, is working with the fire marshal’s office. He did not have any additional information on the fire before 9 p.m. Wednesday. He said he did not know the extent of the damage to the house, although both the first and second floor of the home appeared badly burned in the back. Heavy smoke was drifting from the building for about an hour after most flames on the outside had been put out.
There were no other injuries in the fire, LaFountain said.
Two cats were rescued and were taken to a local animal shelter to spend the night.
Rachel Ohm— 612-2368rohm@centralmaine.com
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