AUGUSTA — It only took an excavator several hours Tuesday to tear down the State Street apartment building damaged by a fire earlier this month.

Some belongings from the 15 people displaced by the fire, including a shelf lined with toiletry items and pictures on walls, were still in the building as the excavator turned it into a pile of rubble. Hanging T-shirts exposed by the demolition flapped in the wind before the claw of the machine pulled them down along with walls, doors and anything else in its path.

Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office determined that the fire reported at 7:20 p.m. April 3 was caused by a tenant in a second-floor apartment disposing of cigarettes in a plastic bag, according to the Augusta Fire Department. All but the woman who started the fire have found permanent housing in other buildings managed by the property management company, APEX Management Co., that was in charge of the 15 State St. building, said John Michaud, owner of the company. It’s not clear whether the woman has found housing yet.

Michaud said the owner of the former five-unit building, who is based in California, won’t rebuild. He expects the debris from the demolished building to be removed in the next couple of days.

The demolition process Tuesday attracted the attention of some of the neighbors and drivers passing the scene on Laurel Street.

Mike Baker, who lives in an apartment building on Laurel Street with his wife, said he had just gotten out of the shower on the evening of April 3 when he saw flames coming out of the neighboring building.

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“It worried me and my wife big time with all these fires,” Baker said, referring to the several other fires that have damaged buildings in the neighbor in the last year, including two within days of each other in December.

“I’m glad our apartment didn’t go,” he added. “That would be a mess.”

Baker, 54, said he was surprised firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to another State Street apartment building just feet away.

That building has been closed to its one tenant since the fire because city officials were concerned it could have been hit if the damaged building collapsed.

Michaud, whose company also manages 13 State St., said he expects the city’s code enforcement department to give the go-ahead to allow the tenant back in on Wednesday. The city’s code enforcement officers weren’t available Tuesday for comment.

Baker, standing on the sidewalk watching the excavator do its work Tuesday, said he hated to see the apartment building torn down.

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“But,” he shrugged, “nothing you can do about it.”

Paul Koenig — 621-5663

pkoenig@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @paul_koenig


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