WISCASSET

Firefighters battle blaze that destroys business

A fire of unknown origin destroyed a Wiscasset business Sunday night.

Wiscasset Deputy Fire Chief John Merry said firefighters had to use an excavator to remove the metal siding from Twin City Lock and Key on Chewonki Neck Road. He said there was no other way for fire crews to get at the hot spots inside the metal framed building.

Merry said several people were working on vehicles inside the structure when the fire was reported around 4:15 p.m. Everyone got out safely.

It took Wiscasset firefighters and crews from seven other departments more than five hours to bring the blaze under control. A second business, located about 200 feet away from Twin City Lock and Key, was not damaged.

WATERBORO

Woman dies in house fire as she tries to rescue pet

A Waterboro woman died in a house fire early Sunday, according to the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

Fire investigators said the body of Mary Gilman, 50, was found in the burned-out Cape Cod house on Paradise Lane in the Lake Arrowhead section of Waterboro. A man who stayed at the house Saturday night – Shawn Girard, 46, of Old Orchard Beach – was being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland for burns and smoke inhalation.

Investigators said the fire likely started near a wood stove in a first-floor porch and rapidly spread through the house. Officials said Girard was awakened by smoke about 1:30 a.m. and ran to a neighbor’s house to call the fire department.

Gilman delayed her escape in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue a family pet.

AUGUSTA

Events aim to call attention to invasive species dangers

Maine’s natural resource agencies are calling attention to the problem of invasive species during National Invasive Species Awareness Week, which began Sunday.

The awareness week features activities, briefings, workshops and events addressing invasive species issues at the local, state and national levels.

In Maine, the departments of Conservation, Agriculture, Environmental Protection, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Marine Resources are promoting activities to raise awareness about the dangers of invasive species.

The most destructive invasive species in Maine is the green crab, which eats soft-shell clams.

Other invasive species include aquatic plants such as milfoil that can clog up lakes, and the plant known as purple loosestrife, which degrades wetlands and destroys habitat.

Maine’s forests are threatened by invasive species such as the hemlock wooly adelgid and the browntail moth.