PORTLAND (AP) — Maine public safety officials are pushing for more home fire safety awareness and proper use of smoke detectors in the wake of the state’s worst year for fire deaths in more than two decades. Twenty-five people died in Maine fires in 2014, the highest figure since 1993. There were 14 fatal fires […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Downtown Lewiston cleaner than last year but trash still a problem
LEWISTON — Downtown trash might not have caused Thursday morning’s fires, but city officials know it makes the fires worse. “When you have trash or old mattresses stacked up between buildings, it’s a problem,” said Jeff Baril, the city’s police and code enforcement liaison. “It’s always been a problem, and we know it. We know […]
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Investigators say four fires in Lewiston were arson
LEWISTON — Four fires set two weeks before the anniversary of last year’s weeklong arson spree has rattled nerves downtown. Thursday’s fires were intentionally set within 3½ hours before dawn. An attempted fifth fire was discovered later in the day. Police and fire officials have declined to say whether the fires are connected or whether […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston tries to make sense of arson fires
Chief Paul LeClair of the Lewiston Fire Department said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that all four were set. He declined to connect the fires to one arsonist. A fifth attempted fire was reported later in the morning, and may have been set at the same time firefighters were battling an apartment fire on […]
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Early chill, spike in fires, storms straining Maine Red Cross resources
BANGOR — Nicole Argraves knew little about the American Red Cross until last month, when her family lost nearly all of their belongings when fire gutted their rented mobile home in Freeport. “I mean, I knew in a vague sense, like everybody does, what the Red Cross does, but (after having) a one-on-one personal experience, […]
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Lewiston landlords challenge housing project
LEWISTON — A group of landlords hope to challenge the city’s approval of a low-income housing project downtown. “We already have a lot of low-income property, and this won’t contribute to our tax base,” Darcy Reed, who owns two units downtown, said. “Just as a taxpayer, this concerns me,” Reed said. “Even if I were […]
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Judge rules Bryan Wood isn’t able to stand trial in Lewiston arson
AUBURN — No date has yet been set to release Bryan Wood from the Androscoggin County Jail, a release ordered by a Superior Court justice Friday who found Wood is incompetent to stand trial on multiple arson charges in connection with a rash of downtown fires last May. Justice MaryGay Kennedy found Wood, 23, of […]
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Doctors say arson suspect not competent to stand trial
AUBURN — Three psychologists who evaluated a Lewiston man said in court Thursday he appeared to lack the necessary reasoning skills to be found competent to stand trial. Bryan Wood, 23, is charged with three counts of arson in a downtown Lewiston fire that destroyed three apartment buildings on May 6. A judge took the […]
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After the fires: Youths planning downtown cleanup Friday
It’s part of a “Lewiston Unites” movement to improve the downtown after three large fires left hundreds homeless in April and May. The Friday cleanup is being organized by the Boys and Girls Club’s Keystone leaders, said Andie Hannon, unit director of the Auburn/Lewiston Clubhouse. “The youth are going around cleaning up the streets to […]
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Three months after fires, Lewiston recovering
LEWISTON — City officials say they’ve noticed a distinct difference in the quarter-mile that makes up the downtown since a series of spring fires burned nearly a dozen apartment buildings. Cleanup and recovery from the April 29 through May 6 fires are works in progress, said Jeff Baril, the city’s police and code enforcement liaison. […]