An electrical fire in the Westbrook Community Center will force the city to close the huge complex for the next two to three weeks, a move that will require at least a dozen programs, including the Westbrook Food Pantry, to relocate.

City officials posted a statement on Westbrook’s Facebook page Tuesday night that estimates the building will reopen in two to three weeks, but gave a longer timeline for the John P. Davan indoor pool of between six and eight weeks.

The closure is necessary because the Bridge Street building has no heat or electricity due to the damage caused by Monday night’s fire.

Westbrook officials published a list of at least 12 community programs that will be affected by the shutdown, including services for autistic preschoolers, a program for disabled adults, the Westbrook Food Pantry, all aquatic programs, Meals on Wheels, recreational basketball, Wayside Food Services, and adult education classes.

The Stroudwater Food Pantry, located on Westbrook Street in Portland, said in a statement Tuesday that it stands ready to fill the gap caused by the need to move the Westbrook Food Pantry out of the community center. The Westbrook Food Pantry will reopen next week at Westbrook Warren Congregational Church on Main Street.

In the meantime, Westbrook pantry members can seek aid at the Stroudwater Food Pantry, 1520 Westbrook St., from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

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“We expect about a 40 percent increase in the number of families who visit us each Sunday during our normal food distribution hours,” Doug Horner, director of the Stroudwater Food Pantry, said in a news release. More volunteers will be brought in to help with Sunday’s distribution of food, and Horner said his program remains in need of extra freezers for food storage.

Woodfords Family Services will maintain uninterrupted services for children and adults with special needs, according to a statement issued by Kerry de Bree, Woodfords’ director of development.

She said Woodfords has operated an early-intervention preschool program for nine children with autism and related disabilities, as well as a community support program called Expeditions, for 25 adults, out of the community center. Those programs will be relocated to Woodfords’ Westbrook campus until a suitable location can be found.

Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the fire was confined to a utility room that houses the panels for the electrical system and also servers for the building’s computers. The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined yet.

“It’s good in the sense that there wasn’t extensive (fire) damage,” he said, but officials are still determining the extent of damage to the electrical system.

A generator to provide electricity for heat and lights was being hooked up Tuesday morning, Bryant said.

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The fire was reported about 6:45 p.m. Monday and filled the building with smoke.

Officials initially feared the fire would knock the building out of commission for up to two months, but Bryant said he is optimistic it won’t be that long.

The Meals on Wheels program managed to move the group’s freezers across the street, Byrant said. The group is using a Little League building that has electricity but is unused in midwinter.

Bryant said the city will cancel all activities in the building for an assessment of the extent of damage and an estimate of how long it will take to make permanent repairs.

“Most of the big user groups, we have found (another space) or have an accommodation in progress,” he said. “Believe it or not, we’re in pretty good shape.”


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