ARUNDEL — Arundel Fire Rescue and the York County Sheriff’s Office are still trying to determine the cause of a structure collapse that injured an elderly man around noon on Monday at Southern Maine Marine Service.

According to a report from the Biddeford Police Department, whose dispatch center fielded the initial call, there were four or five people trapped inside the structure at the time of the collapse. One 86-year-old man sustained head injuries, and was subsequently transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland for observation.

Arundel Deputy Fire Chief Reynald Tardiff said the people who were trapped managed to get out of the building before personnel arrived at the scene. Tardiff said the fire department responded to the scene soon after the call was made, and was there for about two hours, taking pictures and trying to ascertain what precipitated the collapse.

He said the failed structure was under construction as an addendum to the main facility. Tardiff added that he, along with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, will be conducting an investigation to determine what caused the integrity of the building to fail.

“Hopefully, in the next few days, we’ll be able to find out what happened,” said Tardiff.

The entrance to the building was blocked off while personnel tended to the scene.

Town Planner Tad Redway said the Arundel Planning Board had approved construction of the building in the spring; it was being built as a second storage building for the business.

“They had building permits and all that,” said Redway. “We’re still trying to figure out what happened.”

Town Manager Todd Shea confirmed that the building was still in the construction phase. Neither he nor Redway were certain which construction company had been hired to build the structure.

At the business on Tuesday, a man who said he was the owner of Southern Maine Marine Service declined to comment on the collapse, and ordered reporters off the premises.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.

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