SACO — A fire in a former Saco Island mill building has been determined to be accidental.
Firefighters responded around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire in a building known locally as Mill Building No. 4.
The fire originated in a former freight elevator shaft, said Deputy Chief David Pendleton. The shaft was in the process of being removed as Chinburg Properties renovates the building for apartments and commercial space.
Pendleton said he, the state fire marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concur that the fire was accidental and a result of hot work – cutting metal with a torch – that occurred the day before.
Pendleton said damage was relatively minor. Wooden framework and floor decking surrounding the elevator shaft on levels three and four were affected, but those items were likely slated to be removed as part of the demolition anyway, he said.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire. One firefighter from Saco and another from Biddeford went to the hospital for observation and were released, said Pendleton.
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