BRUNSWICK, Maine — Crews with the Brunswick and Bath Fire Departments took out a large fire at a multi-unit apartment complex in Brunswick Sunday. A total of five families were displaced, some with multiple children, according to Brunswick Fire Chief Kenneth Brillant.
Brilliant added one woman was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
The fire spread smoke through multiple units at Perryman Village located at 39 Perryman Drive.
Officials closed Perryman Road while putting out the fire.
"There were five units in the building which means five entire families displaced now," Chief Brillant said.
The fire chief said staffing was low Sunday due to the weekend and nice weather, and that it took time for mutual aid to arrive.
"It's a nice Sunday afternoon. We're shorthanded and people take a while to get here," he explained.
Before first responders arrived, neighbors jumped in to help people evacuate.
Neighbors said one man went near the flames to help an older woman escape her apartment on fire.
"I just happened to be here when this went down and I'm glad no one got hurt," AJ Roy, who said he is a retired firefighter from Bath, told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Roy said he first didn't act because he thought it was a barbecue.
"Then the smoke turns black and me and my cousins started looking, then we jumped into action," he recalled.
The Brunswick Housing Authority, which owns the apartment complex, said the American Red Cross was on scene interviewing families and helping them find housing accommodations.
One family who was displaced did not want to be interviewed but said they have five children and don't know where to find clothes and a place to sleep Sunday.
"Whatever resources are available we will make them available," John Hodge, the executive director for the Brunswick Housing Authority, said. "We're looking for immediate housing like hotels."
Hodge said the personal loss for his tenants is vast.
"But the important thing is people are here with us and alive," Hodge said.
The apartment owners said most of the renters are low-income families.
