BRUNSWICK

Fire departments responded to three minor house fires Wednesday.

The Brunswick Fire Department extinguished a fire at a Hovey Lane residence they say was set by a juvenile with a lighter.

The fire was reported at 1:10 p.m. and knocked down within 10 minutes, Brunswick fire Capt. Chris Fairbanks said.

There was smoke coming from the building when firefighters arrived. They entered the building, found a small fire in the kitchen area and quickly extinguished it, then ventilated the building, Fairbanks said. A miniature artificial Christmas tree and some papers that had been on the counter burned.

The house was damaged by smoke and will need to be cleaned before it is habitable. Fairbanks said Wednesday night the fire remains under investigation.

Firefighters were then called to Brunswick Apartments at 4:15 p.m. for a fire called in by a passer-by who could see flames in a secondstory apartment in Building J through a window.

When crews arrived, Fairbanks said they found the fire out and light smoke in the apartment, which belongs to a Bowdoin College student. A plastic bowl left on the stove had melted and burned.

Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras and made sure the fire hadn’t spread, then ventilated the secondfloor apartments with fans. They reset the fire alarm and turned the undamaged building over to Bowdoin College, clearing the scene at 4:40 p.m.

At nearly the same time, Topsham firefighters were called to 48 Augusta Road for a deck fire that had spread to the exterior of the house.

Topsham Fire Chief Brian Stockdale said there were some small flames showing upon their arrival; homeowners had put some water on the fire themselves.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and removed smoldering and charged boards from the deck.

Stockdale said the fire burned away part of the deck and some of the wood siding on the house but didn’t extend inside the structure. The home smelled of smoke but didn’t require ventilation.

Damage to the home, owned by Angel and Bridgette Ortiz, was not extensive, Stockdale said. A man and three children were home at the time the fire broke out.

Stockdale said he is confident the fire is accidental but is investigating the cause.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

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