ALFRED — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in preparation for the arson trial of a Springvale man who is accused of starting a fire that sent 14 people fleeing into the street with just the clothes on their back in a Maine winter.

Raymond Fortier, 24, is accused of setting the fire that heavily damaged a four-unit apartment building at 22 Mill St. Jan. 6, 2009. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Panama City, Fla., March 5, 2009 and was returned to Maine.

Police allege the fire was started outside, at the rear of the structure, while the tenants slept inside.

Fortier’s mother, Janice Fortier, 46, was arrested and charged with arson in connection with the fire five days later. She was also charged with arson in connection with a fire at the former Mill Street market, almost directly across the street from the apartment building, in August 2009. A trial date for Janice Fortier has not yet been set.

None of the tenants had rental insurance, although the building, owned by George Sleeper, was insured.

The fire consumed the two rear units of the structure, originally built around 1925, according to town records. The two units near the street sustained smoke and water damage.

Sanford Fire Department investigator Brian Smith after the fire said occupants of those units were able to retrieve only a very few items, such as personal documents.

Occupants of the nearby Haven Cove condominiums had to be evacuated when the fire began threatening that structure and the exterior sliding door on that building was damaged by fire. The occupants of 22 Mill St., where Raymond and Janice Fortier lived, were also evacuated.

No one was injured in the blaze, which took more than three hours to bring under control. 

York County Superior Court Justice G. Arthur Brennan ruled Dec. 2 that evidence gathered when Raymond Fortier spoke with police, following administration of a polygraph examination conducted in May 2009, would be suppressed.

Fortier allegedly made statements to a Sanford Police detective that day after he took the exam and after his defense counsel had already left. Prior to leaving the site of the polygraph exam, the defense counsel had objected to a post-test interview, according to documents on file at the Superior Court.

The state had asserted that the polygraph examiner’s comments at the conclusion of the exam, indicating the detective was willing to talk to Fortier, were casual comments and not intended to encourage Fortier to talk to the officer.

The fire investigation was conducted by Sanford Police Criminal Investigation Division, Sanford Fire Department investigators and a fire investigation team created between area fire departments as a resource for fire scene examination and investigation.

Arson is a Class A felony. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 30 years in prison.

Prosecutor Thad West said he is preparing for a trial, although court proceedings are subject to change.

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.