State Fire Marshal investigators planned Monday to interview the four survivors of a Boothbay house fire that killed two men.
The cause of the fire remained unknown, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
One woman survived the fire Sunday at 116 Pleasant Cove Road by jumping out a second-floor window, and a Winslow woman and her two young children, all sleeping on the ground floor of the rental property, managed to escape, officials said.
Baldomero “Bart” Zamora, 50, and Lucas Farias, 23, died in the early morning fire. Julie Gilbert, 48, who survived by jumping out the second-floor window, was Farias’ mother.
Gilbert was listed in satisfactory condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Monday night.
A GoFundMe page raising money for Gilbert, a United flight attendant, said she was in the intensive care unit with third-degree burns.
“This is going to be a long road for Julie and her family,” said a post on the site, which had raised more than $4,200 as of Monday evening. Several donations were from colleagues at United and friends and classmates of Lucas Farias.
Gilbert, Zamora and Farias were from Chicago, although Gilbert formerly lived in Damariscotta.
State Fire Marshal’s Office investigators said the fire started in the first-floor living room, McCausland said.
Alexandra King, 26, and 8-year-old Harley Raymond and 4-year-old River Raymond were treated and released from an area hospital, McCausland said.
Zamora and Farias apparently tried to escape, and their bodies were found near windows in two separate upstairs bedrooms, McCausland said.
Chad Charland, a close friend of the family, shared a message from Lucas Farias’ father Monday night. In a status posted on Facebook, Frank Farias described his son as “an amazing Man, a loving Son, a caring Brother and most of all a true Friend of many.”
Farias had graduated cum laude from DePaul University in Chicago, his father said, and he planned to sit for his master’s captain’s license. He had also owned an e-cigarette and vape company, and he loved the outdoors and music.
“He was an incredible musician (and) had the ability to pick up any instrument and play it,” Frank Farias wrote.
Zamora’s sister, Elva Zamora, said she talked to the lead investigator of the fire and he said that, based on what he saw and a statement by Gilbert, the couple was trapped upstairs because the stairway had collapsed and “their only option was the window.”
Zamora, one of eight siblings, had two adult children and two grandchildren. He was a veteran who served with the Army Reserves. He had just turned 50 in September, and the family had friends over to celebrate a belated birthday the night before the fire.
Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford said the property has been for sale for several years, and was available to rent through the realty group selling the property.
The owners of the property, Troy and Trina Lewis, did not return calls for comment Monday.
Staff writer Megan Doyle contributed to this report.
Correction: This story was updated on the morning of Oct. 11 to correct the spelling of Chad Charland’s first name and Frank Farias’ last name.
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