In the aftermath of a three-alarm fire that destroyed much of the Scarborough Commons office building off Route 1 Monday, the building owner and others expressed thanks that no one was hurt.

However, recovery from the fire could be difficult for the 18 tenants of the building, many of whom lost everything in the fire that was reported at about 7:41 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8.

At a press conference held late Tuesday afternoon, the State Fire Marshal’s Office announced that the cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction in the ceiling above one of the treatment rooms in Unit No. 7, which is leased by a chiropractor.

Scarborough Fire Chief Michael Thurlow called it “a significant structure fire,” which broke out at 7:21 p.m. Fire crews were on scene until 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, he said. Three firefighters were taken to the hospital for minor heat-related injuries and have since been released, Thurlow added.

He said it was “a challenging fire to fight” because crews could not safely enter the building and had to fight the flames from the outside.

The center portion of the office building, which is the oldest section of the structure, was not sprinkled and that also contributed to the damage, Thurlow said.

Sgt. Tim York, with the fire marshal’s office, said the insurance company would have to make the final decision about whether the building was “totaled,” but said the most “severe fire damage was to the center core. The wings suffered very little heat damage.”

Thurlow said all utilities to the building have been shut off and that no businesses would be up and running “anytime soon.” Karen Martin, executive director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation, has met with most of the tenants to find out their most immediate needs and determine how to best get them back on their feet.

“This has been pretty emotional for the tenants, but the wider business community has been very responsive,” Martin said. “The most important thing is getting people back working and earning their livelihood as soon as possible.”

Richard Aube, who has owned the office building since 1989, said he received a call from his security company informing him of the fire. Aube, who lives in Standish, drove to Scarborough and spent most of the night watching crews battle the fire. He arrived on scene at about 8:30 p.m. and stayed until around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.

“I’m just in disbelief,” he said, adding that the damage looked worse in the daylight, even though he spent most of the night watching the flames “shoot through the roof.”

While leasing the building is an important source of income for Aube, his immediate concern was for his tenants.

“I’ve spoken with the tenants and they’re all devastated because they’re all out of business,” he said.

Aube was still waiting to learn the cause of the fire, and said he’s unsure whether any part of the building is salvageable or whether it all must be knocked down and totally rebuilt.

He said the office building is in a good location and he’s had good luck during the past 25 years in keeping the building full. His current crop of tenants included a number of wellness practitioners.

In addition, the Focused on You film and digital imaging store was located on the first floor, and the office building also housed the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants, a medical records transcription service and more.

All the tenants the Current spoke with in the aftermath of the fire expressed their gratitude to the fire crews, and all of them called Aube a good landlord.

Elizabeth Tabor, who owns Focused on You with her husband, said they both came to the scene as soon as they heard about the fire on Monday evening.

She and her husband got lucky after the fire was knocked down when fire crews allowed them to enter their store and retrieve computer equipment and data storage devices.

Tabor, who’s leased space at Scarborough Commons for seven years, said she’s thankful that her store was left relatively untouched by the fire, although there is significant smoke and water damage.

Wendy Whiting, executive director of the Maine Society of CPAs, said her group has leased space at Scarborough Commons for the past 20 years.

Her unit, at the top of the building, was one of those that suffered the most damage, and Whiting is pretty sure there is “nothing left” to salvage.

She heard about the fire from a friend whose husband works at the Portland Fire Department. Whiting, who lives in Scarborough, said she immediately came to the scene, but only stayed for about 45 minutes, because “there was obviously nothing I could do.”

She described the fire scene as “smoke and flames pouring out of the top and water pouring in.” Whiting also called the fire, “very upsetting” and “devastating.” Even so, as of mid-morning Tuesday, she’d already lined up temporary office space.

Bev Simpson, of Saco, who operated a medical transcription service, has been at Scarborough Commons for two years. Due to the fire she will have to “rebuild and start all over.”

Unfortunately, Simpson did not have off-site data storage so she’s lost a lot of work. However, since she was expecting a new computer to be delivered, she did take home one of the older computers, so that machine was saved.

Simpson said she debated coming to the scene after hearing about the fire, but decided to stay home.

“I knew we wouldn’t be able to get too close, and there was nothing I could do,” she said.

Due to her strong faith, Simpson said she was able to sleep Monday night, after “giving it all to God.”

She has two part-time employees and one was working from Simpson’s home on Tuesday morning. Simpson is unsure what to expect if she’s ever let back into her unit.

“I saw the (fire footage) with all the flames, so I am not surprised at the damage,” she said.

All of the tenants the Current spoke with said they had business insurance and all were hopeful those policies would help them recover from the fire. In addition, Aube said the entire building is fully ensured.

Five other communities sent crews to help fight the fire, including Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Gorham, Westbrook and Portland, according to the Scarborough Fire Department’s Facebook page.

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A closer look

The Maine Department of Labor will hold a session at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, at Scarborough Town Hall for anyone displaced and out of work due to Monday’s fire at the Scarborough Commons office building.

It took crews from multiple communities to fight this massive fire at the Scarborough Commons office building, located at 153 U.S. Route 1, Monday night.Much of the Scarborough Commons office building is a total loss following Monday’s fire.Fire crews were hard at work Monday fighting a fire at the Scarborough Commons office building.Some business owners at the Scarborough Commons office building may be able to salvage something from the wreckage of Monday’s fire, but several of them lost everything.