WATERVILLE, Maine — Fire departments from Waterville, Winslow, Skowhegan, and Oakland responded to the scene of a fire at 105 Kennedy Memorial Drive early Thursday morning.
Nobody was in the building at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to fire personnel.
The alarm was called in around 5:30 a.m. by a Waterville police officer who was investigating an intrusion alarm at the address. Waterville Fire Battalion Chief Rodney Alderman confirmed a working fire and requested an all-hands alarm. Shortly thereafter, due to limited personnel, a second alarm was requested which brought fire personnel and apparatus from Winslow and Oakland to the scene, while the Fairfield Fire Department covered the Waterville fire station.
The Skowhegan Fire Department responded on the second alarm. Units found fire and smoke on the first and second floors and quickly knocked the fire down. Extinguishment was hampered by an almost complete floor collapse to the fire room on the second floor.
Investigators from the Waterville Fire Department and the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office said they found that wood stain-soaked rags in a closed container combusted and burned through the floor. The building was recently purchased by Waterville Audiology and they were in the process of renovations, according to the Waterville Fire Department.
Waterville police and Delta Ambulance Transportation Service also assisted at the scene.
