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State authorities are still investigating a fatal fire at a three-story apartment building on St. Lawrence Street in Portland early Sunday. Some tenants began recovering their belongings on Monday. (Shawn Oullette/Staff Photographer)

State officials have tentatively identified the two people who died in an apartment fire on Portland’s Munjoy Hill on Sunday.

Firefighters recovered the bodies of Nicole Niehoff, 45, and Jake Millett, 40, from the three-story, four-unit building on St. Lawrence Street that caught fire early Sunday, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said in a statement Tuesday.

The investigation is active and the identities have yet to be confirmed by the medical examiner’s office, the statement said.

Authorities have not said what caused the fire. State investigators “are confident that no foul play is suspected” and their preliminary findings indicate the fire started on the rear, second-floor porch area before spreading inside, according to the release.

The now-condemned building at 43 St. Lawrence St. was significantly damaged, according to authorities.

Morgan covers crime and public safety for the Portland Press Herald. She moved to Maine from the sandy shores of West Michigan in 2024. She discovered her passion for breaking news while working for Michigan...

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