By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
WASHBURN — Thirty people remain displaced from their homes after lightning struck the 24-unit apartment complex owned by Caribou-based C.S. Management, but officials are hopeful that all most all tenants will be able to safely return to their space by the end of the week.
Owner of C.S. Management Shawn Pelletier said on Tuesday that most of the damage was isolated to one apartment and common area space of the 20 Kim Street housing complex.
“We have contractors right now who are assessing the extent of the damage, apartment by apartment … our hopes are that possibly by the end of the week, we can get the tenants back in the apartments except for one that will have to be relocated,” he said.
Fire broke out at the housing unit after it was stuck by lightning on Sunday around 12:30 p.m.; Washburn Fire Chief Troy Heald said that the fire started in the attic.
“Damage was contained to the center portion of the building leaving almost all the apartments with only minor smoke damage,” he said.
Neighbors reportedly ran toward the burning complex to alert and rescue residents.
Though the traumatic event is far from good news, this cloud has multiple silver linings.
“We’re very fortunate — it’s bad, but it could have been a lot worse,” Pelletier said. “This is a 24-unit housing complex of elderly and disabled people; when the fire department arrived, there was smoke and fire coming from the roof. There were a lot of things engineered [into this building] to prevent fire from spreading, and all of those systems seemed to work,” he added. “Without those, it could have really been a total loss of the building.”
On Tuesday, engineers and local contractors were on the scene fully assessing the damage caused by smoke, fire and water and testing the electrical system.
The Washburn Fire Department was assisted by the Caribou and Presque Isle Fire Departments, and multiple community entities pitched in help those in need.
Even the State Director of USDA Rural Development Virginia Manuel was on the scene mid-Tuesday, talking with Pelletier and Director of the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross Joyce Knorr about how the USDA RD could help. Pelletier received a loan through USDA Rural Development to finance the housing complex, and the Washburn site is one of 343 such facilities in Maine that provides housing to over 8,000 individuals and families in the state.
Manuel praised Pelletier on Tuesday for his active participation in rehabilitating the complex since practically the moment the incident occurred.
“We hope that the tenants will be back in here sooner than later, and that’s why we’re here today — to take a look at the site, to talk with [Shawn] about it and try to get a better assurance about the timeframe that the tenants can be back in here safely,” Manuel explained, expressing that USDA RD and Pelletier shared the same key concern of getting everyone back in their homes as soon as safely possible.
“Everyone’s objective here is the tenants and getting them back in their apartments, and we’re grateful for everything that the community has done for us so far in this difficult time — it was a tremendous community effort by all involved,” Pelletier said, crediting the efforts of everyone from the firefighters to the school department, the local store, the snowmobile club, the Red Cross and Rural Development … even the local animal hospital arrived with animal carriers to help tenants safely evacuate their pets.
“From the moment it started, everyone chipped in to help out and in a situation like this, you couldn’t ask for it really to go any smoother than it did,” he said.
A cost of the damages accrued through the fire, smoke and water was not available as of Tuesday afternoon as the engineers and contractors worked to fully assess the building, but Pelletier did say that the building was insured.
In the interim, tenants are being assisted by the local Red Cross chapter.
“We’ve been going for at least the past 48 hours,” Knorr said. The local disaster relief agency has been working hard to meet the needs of those displaced by the fire, providing them with a place to stay, food to eat and an allowance for other necessities.
There were eight tenants the Red Cross had not been able to reach as of Tuesday afternoon, but Knorr and C.S. Management were working to make sure that everyone was contacted to receive the help they needed.
“We’re here until we’re not needed,” Knorr said.
Last year, the local Red Cross chapter provided services to 48 individuals and families, with 48 fires that effected over 200 people.
“For a family of four, the average cost is $1,200 and that was double what we typically do in a year in The County,” she said.
Knorr also said that the Red Cross will be working with their allied partners to make sure the effected tenants have the assistance they need to get back on their feet after the fire.
