BELFAST (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Ming's Restaurant along Route 1 in Belfast is a complete loss after being destroyed by fire early Sunday morning.
According to Belfast Fire Chief Jim Richards, the fire started around 1:15 A.M. and took crews several hours to put out the flames. Crews eventually returned later in the morning to put out additional hot spots.
“Pops, crackles, sounds like almost fireworks,” says University of Maine Sophomore Ben Robson, an eyewitness to the fire.
“Then like ten minutes later, there was another big explosion,” added Robson’s girlfriend, University of Maine Sophomore Ashley Flanders, who also witnessed the early morning blaze.
“I went up and opened up the window, like the shade, to investigate, and then I saw the house on fire,” says Robson.
“You could just see the flames coming up from the woods,” says Flanders.
Chief Richards says the metal roof on the building made the fire difficult to vent. The building has been deemed a total loss.
“I just feel so bad for them because it’s like their home and their business and yeah, it’s really sad,” says Flanders.
“It’s absolutely devastating,” added Robson. “It’s someone’s livelihood and their home so just to see all of that go up in flames, it’s really heart wrenching.”
Four people living in an apartment above the restaurant were home at the time of the fire but were able to escape unharmed. Chief Richards says none of the residents, or the more than thirty responding firefighters, were injured as a result of the blaze.
Crews from Belfast, Searsport, Belmont, and Morrill responded to the fire.
Early indications point to a truck, parked next to the restaurant containing a high-pressure washer, as the cause of the fire. The fire marshal is expected on scene to continue investigating on Monday.