PORTLAND (AP) — Mourners held a vigil on Tuesday for the six people killed in a house fire, shining flashlights in a park in their honor, in Portland’s Longfellow Park on Noyes Street, where the burned house is located. Mourners lined the perimeter of the park and turned on flashlights to create a wall of light.
Authorities said they’re still investigating the cause of the Nov. 1 fire, which destroyed the 94-year-old two-apartment house.
The fire happened the morning after a Halloween party at the house. It killed Portland residents Nicole Finlay, David Bragdon Jr., Ashley Thomas and Christopher Conlee, Topsham resident Maelisha Jackson and Rockland resident Steven Summers.
At least two of the victims, Bragdon and Thomas, lived in the house. Bragdon worked at a nearby restaurant called Great Lost Bear, and Thomas was a wedding photographer.
Several other tenants escaped the smoke and flames. One of those to escape, Nathan Long, said the tenants were like a family, frequently cooking family-style meals and serving as a support system for each other.
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