The state Fire Marshal’s office is investigating a fire that burned an American flag and superficially damaged a historic building in Bath as arson, a Maine State Police spokesperson said Wednesday.
Bath’s fire and police departments and state investigators responded to the Masonic Temple on Washington Street around 10 a.m. Tuesday and discovered that the large American flag draped in front of the building’s main entrance had been burned.
The fire was out when crews arrived and the building sustained minor damage, Bath Fire and Rescue said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
In an update Wednesday, state police spokesperson Shannon Moss said state investigators determined the fire was intentionally set and classified the incident as arson.
Moss said an unknown person placed a new American flag on a fence in front of the temple sometime after the fire. Investigators are now looking for the person responsible for hanging the new flag.
State police encouraged anyone with information on the fire to contact the arson tipline at 1-888-870-6162 or [email protected], or call the Augusta Communications Center at 207-624-7076 and ask to speak with a FMO investigator.
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