CORNVILLE — Adam Fine was a projects guy, always on the lookout for something to repair, resell or refurbish.

“He was constantly going,” said Fine’s brother, Nigel Fine. “If he didn’t have a side project, he was finding one. He was always buying, selling, trading something. That was his favorite thing to do. He was just constantly wheeling and dealing.”

One of Adam Fine’s latest projects was demolishing an abandoned trailer on a piece of property he recently bought on Beckwith Road. He had plans to put a new house on it for him and his long-time girlfriend.

On Wednesday, 21-year-old Adam Fine and a friend, Nathan Shaw, were working on the demolition when the unthinkable happened. The roof of the old mobile home collapsed, killing Fine and injuring Shaw.

“It doesn’t feel real,” said Nigel Fine, 23, of Solon. “I personally am happy I have tasks to do. I’ve taken over a lot of the decision-making and organizing people. It’s keeping me busy. My parents are not doing great, but they’re coping.”

Police said Wednesday the walls of the old trailer had been removed and it appears to have shifted to the rear as it collapsed.

Cornville Code Enforcement Officer Kenneth Hogate did not respond to a phone call Thursday for comment on whether there were any safety concerns with the structure.

A spokeswoman at Redington-Fairview General Hospital, where Shaw was reportedly taken for injuries that were not life threatening, said the hospital did not have admissions information for him and he may have been transferred to another facility.

The home at 118 Beckwith Road had been abandoned for years and was in rough shape, so Adam Fine was in the process of tearing it down and scrapping what metal he could, his brother said.

“He wanted to have another module brought in or a friend who does carpentry build him another home,” Fine said. “It was going to be a project home for him and his woman down the road.”

The brothers grew up in Cornville, though Adam Fine had been living in Skowhegan the last few years. Their parents are Charlene and Glen Fine and they also have another brother, Leejan Gazeley.

Nigel Fine said his brother knew what he was doing when it came to demolition.

“He wasn’t an architect by any means, but it’s fair to say he knew what he was doing and it just went south,” he said.

Adam Fine was engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Kara Rawlings, though they didn’t have any immediate plans to get married. They had been together since their senior year at Skowhegan Area High School, Nigel Fine said.

“She’s been coming home to him being there every day for the last three or four years and he’s not there anymore,” he said. “She’s holding up. She’s not doing great, but she’s coping.”

For about the last year, Nigel Fine and his brother worked together at ALCOM, an aluminum trailer manufacturer in Winslow.

Adam, who started working there about six months prior to Nigel, put in a good word to help him get the job, Nigel Fine said.

Both worked three 12-hour days Friday through Sunday and Nigel said it was not unusual for his brother to show up early for work.

“If we were to describe him here, I would say he was very well-liked,” said Don Embrey, director of human resources at ALCOM. “For me, I would describe him as a true gentleman. You can’t always say that about a 21-year-old. He had a very good mannerism, was very caring and took pride in what he did.

“He had some serious plans in life, including possibly getting married in the future. We know that. It’s just a very sad and unfortunate ending. He will be missed by many.”

Nigel Fine said his brother was full of energy, “like what you’d expect if you tried to bottle lightning.”

When he wasn’t working at ALCOM, Adam Fine worked at an auction house and in his spare time would refurbish and sell old video game units. He was constantly scouring the pages of Uncle Henry’s and looking at Craigslist for things to buy and re-sell.

“If you didn’t hear about his latest project, it’s because you didn’t talk to him that week,” Nigel Fine said.

Like Embry, he said his brother was polite and well-mannered to everyone, but he also loved to talk.

“There’s nothing I can really say about him that you wouldn’t get if you just met him for a minute,” Nigel Fine said. “If you met him once, you’d recognize him for the rest of your life. He just had that kind of impact on people.”

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm

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