BIDDEFORD — It was a harrowing morning for members of the Biddeford Fire Department as a five-alarm blaze destroyed a 118-year-old apartment building in the city, but somehow with help from departments as far away as South Portland, firefighters were able to prevent widespread damage to nearby structures on Monday. 

According to Biddeford Fire Chief Scott Gagne, crews were first notified of a fire at 45 Hill St. about 8:35 a.m. Monday and when they arrived at the scene, firefighters were greeted by thick, billowing plumes of smoke that could be seen thoughout the city and in Saco.

Built in 1900, the three-story building was home to 24 residents, who were displaced by the fire and are now being assisted by the Red Cross.

The intense heat and flames gutted the apartment building’s interior and fire crews requested that Central Maine Power cut the electricity in a three-block radius to prevent damage to the electrical grid and firefighter safety.

“The amount of fire on one side of the building was impinging on the adjacent building at 39 Hill St., so the occupants were evacuated there too,” Gagne said.

Late Monday afternoon, the entire south side of apartments at 39 Hill St. appeared scorched and had sustained damage from the neighboring fire.

In sifting through the rubble Monday evening, a body was discovered, but that person’s identity has not yet been released.

“When we first arrived, water availability was the most challenging thing we had to face here,” Gagne said. 

The fire chief explained that fire crews typically have two water supplies to draw from at fire scenes.

“We have a low system that is fed by gravity and a high systen that is pump fed,” Gagne said. “The low system hindered what we could do initially. We laid out plenty of line and we were able to bring it under control with the help of numerous mutual aid partners. Thank God for our mutual aid and assistance.”

Representatives of the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office arrived at the scene Monday afternoon and continued to investigate the fire’s origin into the evening hours.

“They are concerned with accountability first,” Gagne said. “There are still some people unaccounted for and that will remain a concern until we know for sure everyone is accounted for.”

Searching through the interior rubble was difficult. The top two floors collapsed on one side of the building, making if hard to get to the other side to see what might have started the fire and if anyone remained in the building.

“This was a five-alrm fire and one of the bigger fires in the city in years,” Gagne said. “The left side of the building sustained the most fire damage.”

The fire chief said residents of 39 Hill St. will not be able to return to their residences until water damage can be cleaned up and the building’s electrical system can be certified as safe.

“It’s just not habitable right now,” he said.

As some residents left 39 Hill St. they carried away their pets. Several carried small dogs in their arms and one resident left with a cat in a pet carrier.

Fire crews assisting in putting out the fire included members of the the Kennebunk Fire Department, Saco Fire Department, Old Orchard Beach Fire Department, Wells Fire Department, Goodwins Mills Fire Department, Sanford Fire Department, Scarborough Fire Department and the South Portland Fire Department.

Kelly Green has lived in an apartment at 47 Bacon St. across a driveway on the north side of 45 Hill St. for the past three years.

Green said the news of a fire raging next door was “pretty scary.”

She said all eight apartments in her building were evacuated.

“I went to my neighbor’s house across the street,” Green said. “There were fire trucks in our driveway and a ladder truck was behind our apartment.”

The power was cut to her building and she said when she was allowed to return to her residence, her apartment smells like smoke despite facing away from the burned building.

“I was sleeping this morning and a neighbor came and knocked on the door and told us to leave because of the fire. You have no idea how frightening that was,” Green said.

The cause of the fire and the cost of total damage to the burned building at 45 Hill St. has not yet been determined, but could skyrocket to as much as several million dollars.

All 70 Biddeford firefighters from all three shifts were recalled to help out at the fire scene, Gagne said.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com.