By Paula Brewer
Special to the Aroostook Republican
A landmark Caribou business sustained extensive damage from a late-evening fire Thursday, as firefighters from five communities battled the blaze.
Crews responded at about 9 p.m. to Phil’s Florist and Greenhouses on the Washburn Road to find the main part of the store in flames. Though the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office investigated, the exact cause could not be determined due to the severity of the damage, an official said Monday. The fire broke out Thursday at the business, owned by David and Patty Corriveau. Caribou Fire and Ambulance crews were aided on the scene by trucks and personnel from Washburn, Fort Fairfield, Limestone and Presque Isle, with a total of 52 firefighters involved, said Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi.
“We got the call at 9 o’clock, and crews went out and found the second story fully involved,” Susi explained.
The store itself was hardest hit, and a portion of the roof had already collapsed when firefighters arrived on scene that night. The outlying greenhouses, however, were spared.
“The greenhouses are intact,” Susi confirmed. “The damage was mainly in the main building, and there was a lot of heat and water damage. The center part is a total loss.”
While early speculation suggested there were frozen water mains or hydrants near the area, Susi said that was not the case.
“We had all the water we needed,” he said. “The only trouble we had occurred when the trucks went to pour. It was 7 or 8 below zero, and if you left them too long on scene they’d freeze up, so we were supplying them from the fire station and had a hydrant going.”
In all, 84,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the fire.
Phil’s opened in 1974 under owners Phil and Jackie Doak, and the present owners took the business over in 2006. While the situation has been understandably difficult and devastating for the Corriveaus, a family member said Monday afternoon that the outpouring of support and kindness from the community has been heartening, from phone calls to visits and people bringing food.
“This community is just unbelievably caring and we have gotten a lot of support from everyone,” said the family member, who declined to be identified. “It’s really nice to be surrounded by so many loving people. There are good, good people in this community, and without their support this would be much harder.”
The business was insured, said Chief Susi, and he and investigators from the state fire marshal’s office met with the Corriveaus and their insurance representatives Friday on site.
Tim York, sergeant with the Maine Office of the State Fire Marshal, said that although the most damaged part of the building appeared to be the ceiling area in the room containing the woodstove, it was not possible to determine exactly what happened due to the severe damages.
“The origin and cause are undetermined due to the extent of the damage,” York explained. “Our investigation is closed and we can’t specifically pinpoint where it started.”
He said in a typical fire investigation, officials take observations from first responders, look at areas from the least to most damaged at the particular site, try to decide where the area of greatest damage is, and then look for causes.
The next step in this case, York added, is for the owners and their insurance company to decide what to do going forward.
