Thirteen people, including two children, were left homeless Tuesday by a fire that destroyed a first-floor apartment in a building in Portland’s Parkside neighborhood.
Deputy Fire Chief John Everett said the fire started around 3 p.m. in the three-story wood-framed structure at 3 Sherman St.
Everett said 13 people lived in the nine-unit apartment building. They escaped and no injuries were reported, but the building’s managers opted to move tenants because of the stench caused by the fire in the ground floor living area.
“The building smelled, but the damage was confined to the first floor,” Everett said. “We will be working hard tomorrow to get everyone back into their homes.”
Eight adults and two children had nowhere to live Tuesday night, Everett said, while three adults found other living arrangements for the night.
A Red Cross disaster action team was working with the fire victims Tuesday night to find shelter and food, said Ann Kim, spokeswoman for the Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.