FORT KENT — Fire tore through downtown Fort Kent early Sunday, destroying five buildings and forcing 10 people out of their homes, authorities said. No one was injured.

The fire broke out in one of three buildings that made up a furniture store, then spread to the other two, along with two adjacent buildings not associated with the store, said Steve McCausland, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. The other two buildings housed a medical supply store and unoccupied retail space as well as apartments.

Additional Photos

Firefighters from eight departments from Maine and New Brunswick respond to a fire in downtown Fort Kent that destroyed five buildings. Apartment tenants were safely evacuated minutes before the fire engulfed the buildings. The cause of the fire is unknown. The Associated Press/The Bangor Daily News/Julia Bayly

Fort Kent Fire Chief Ed Endee said between 75 and 100 firefighters from eight departments in Maine and neighboring New Brunswick responded to the blaze, which was reported by a passer-by shortly after midnight. The cause was under investigation.

The fire was declared under control about 6 a.m., though firefighters continued hosing down hot spots throughout the afternoon, Endee said. By evening, three fire investigators were on the scene conducting interviews and examining the rubble, McCausland said.

Among those helping to evacuate residents was Tony Enerva of the Fort Kent Police Department, who told the Bangor Daily News: “We had literally minutes to get people out. We are really lucky nobody got hurt.”

The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.

“We pretty much know it started in the vicinity of the rear of the furniture store,” Endee said.

The heat from the fire was so intense it shattered glass in two businesses across the street, and melted vinyl siding and signs from nearby businesses, he said.

Fort Kent, a town of about 4,300 residents, is located along northern Maine’s border with New Brunswick. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, a Democrat who represents the district, said his office has reached out to the town to offer assistance.

One of the destroyed buildings was a historic Fort Kent building that contained Nadeau’s House of Furniture.

The Nadeau’s House of Furniture building was constructed around 1880 and for the past 37 years, Ellery “Arms” Labbe and his sons Pat Labbe, David Labbe and Phil Labbe have operated furniture and flooring businesses from the site, the Daily News said.

“This was not only a historical landmark,” Dave Labbe said, according to the Bangor Daily News. “My dad made it what it is today and we all worked so hard there for so many years and to look at it now, destroyed in a half hour — I just can’t believe it.”

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