Fire on Hall Street

FORT KENT - The call came in at 3:10 in the morning on Thursday, August 26.

According to Fire Chief Dave Pelletier, an empty rental house on Hall Street was ablaze and threatened nearby homes.

FIRE ON HALL STREET - An unoccupied house caught fire on Thursday morning at around 3:10. Firefighters from both Fort Kent and Clair battled the flames until 6:45 in the morning. - Birden photo

Twenty Fort Kent firefighters rushed to the scene and began to battle the blaze.

Pelletier said he called the Clair Fire Department for assistance because of the high humidity.  He said, "Rather than waiting for people to drop, we figured we would go ahead and get the replacements."

Clair responded immediately and sent approximately a dozen more firefighters along with their gear across the bridge into Fort Kent.

Radiated heat from the blaze melted vinyl off of the adjacent house and cracked the windows nearest to the flames.

Pelletier said the first responders left the scene at 6:45.

Pelletier said the house is repairable, but he did not think the owner, Robert Pelletier, would rebuild.

The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

Pelletier said, "The guys did a heckuva job putting this out.  It was a tremendous job.  I'd like to personally thank them."