GORHAM – The owner of Gorham House of Pizza believes he can reopen the popular restaurant within four months, following a fire last week that heavily damaged the building in Gorham Village.

Investigators have ruled the fire accidental and say it is not connected to the recent string of arsons in Gorham.

An outpouring of phone calls from community supporters this week has encouraged Angelo Sotiropoulos, who has begun the arduous task of cleaning up.

He said this week he has received “phone call after phone call” and emails, including those from students at Gorham High School and the University of Southern Maine.

“What a beautiful community,” said Sotiropoulos, who emigrated from Greece to the United States in 1972. “I feel like I was born and raised here.”

Al Bean, athletic director at the university, viewed the building damage Friday morning from a State Street sidewalk.

“It’s very sad,” Bean said. “It looks like a heck of a lot of damage.”

Bean said Sotiropoulos supports athletic programs at the university and has been important to the community.

“He’s always been generous,” Bean said.

Firefighters from surrounding communities helped Gorham battle the blaze Thursday evening. Gorham Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Fickett said the fire was ruled accidental and “totally unrelated” to the arsons.

But, the fire shook an already-nervous community.

Kelly Mosher, a senior at the University of Southern Maine, lived in an apartment on the second floor with four other female students. Her first reaction was arson.

“Oh God, it couldn’t be, could it,” she said. “Thankfully, it wasn’t that.”

Investigators said a ceiling fan in the bathroom of a second-floor apartment malfunctioned, causing the fire. Daniel Young, a Maine Fire Marshal’s Office investigator, said a tenant had left the fan running for 17-18 hours.

“It’s not a continuous-use fan,” Young said.

Mosher said, “It started in an apartment next to ours.”

Then, the fire jumped up into the third floor.

Young said smoke alarms functioned properly and everyone got out safely. Mosher said the girls have a cat and were babysitting another pet.

“They got out safely,” Mosher said.

The fire drew a large throng that lined sidewalks in the darkened village, where electrical power was cut off. Water ran down South Street.

Mosher was among a group gathered on a South Street sidewalk near the stone wall of the adjacent cemetery. For a better vantage point, some gazed at the fire from inside the cemetery.

Denise Nelson, director of residential life at the university, said four women from the university, which included Mosher, and another from the University of New England shared one apartment. Nelson said the university would provide housing for them on campus for the rest of the semester.

Sotiropoulos said there’s a lot of work to be done, and all the wood has to dry out before making repairs.

A landmark in Gorham Village, the building at 2 State St. was constructed in 1877, according to town records. For many years it housed a pharmacy, Barden’s Drug Co., and it had a soda fountain area popular with kids.

Sotiropoulos, who owns the building, took over the Gorham House of Pizza in 1981 after another owner first opened it in 1980. Sotiropoulos had previous operated the Falmouth House of Pizza in the 1970s and one in the 1990s in Kezar Falls.

Support from the public since the fire moved Sotiropoulous.

“I don’t have enough words to thank the community,” he said.

Firefighters attack the blaze April 19 that extensively damaged the Gorham House of Pizza building at 2 State St. Investigators say the fire was accidental and not related to the recent string of arsons in Gorham.