NORWAY — Town officials say they must do what they can to ensure the safety of tenants of a Main Street apartment building after the structure filled with smoke Saturday and sent its owner to the hospital.

Patrick McInnis, 70, of 168 Main St., who has been fighting eviction from his home, which town officials say is a safety and health hazard, was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital Saturday after a wood stove malfunctioned and filled the building with smoke. He was treated for smoke inhalation and placed on oxygen, according to fire Chief Dennis Yates.

Yates said the stove was used when McInnis ran out of oil to heat his home. Firefighters from Norway, Oxford and Paris were called to the scene. There were no other injuries. Officials say at least one other tenant, possibly two, live in the four-unit apartment building.

The incident happened a day after Oxford County Superior Court Justice Robert Clifford said he would wait until the next civil court day, Jan. 14, before enacting an eviction order. 

Town Manager David Holt said Wednesday that the town’s attorney has been advised of Saturday’s incident, and he will update the court about the smoke incident and the concerns town officials have about relocating the tenants.

Holt said he and other officials have been wrestling with the question of whether the town should be spending its resources trying to relocate two sex offenders who live there.

Holt said town officials say it’s a tough situation, but “the time has come to do the best we can.”

Both McInnis, who has lived there for decades, and a tenant, who appeared in court on Friday with McInnis and still lives in the house, are registered sex offenders.

The tenant, Robert Baird, has eight unlawful sexual contact convictions against a victim under the age of 14 in 2003 from the Superior Court in Auburn. McInnis has one conviction of gross sexual assault, dating from an arrest in 1992, through the Oxford County Superior Court in Paris.

“I’m apprehensive about the town getting into the business of finding a place for sex offenders to go,” Holt said. He has been dealing with the issues for more than four months. “I wrestle with the question of why it is the town’s job.”

On Sept. 4, the Board of Selectmen agreed to hold off on a vote to condemn the property after Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman said she was hopeful the owner would make all the repairs in short order. But as the weeks went by and many safety issues continued, Corey-Whitman told selectmen that action was needed to remove the tenants and owner.

Although McInnis knew he was on the verge of having the town condemn the house, he continued to advertise for tenants, specifically for those who might be self-sufficient enough to do repairs.

He told the Sun Journal he did not rent the apartments despite several inquires.

In early November, town officials said they would file for an injunction in Oxford County Superior Court to prevent McInnis from renting the spaces until they pass inspection.

Yates, who has inspected the building along with Corey-Whitman on several occasions over the last few months, said he is concerned about what might happen with the additional time the court has given the owner.

“Anything can happen, and obviously it did already,” Yates said. “We’ll just hope and pray nothing happens.”

“There’s lots to think about,” Holt said.

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Staff Reporter Tony Reaves contributed to this story.