SOUTH PORTLAND — A fire that displaced one tenant Aug. 5 happened in a building that is exempt from the city’s sprinkler requirement.
The building at the Kingswood Condominiums, which includes the two largest structures in the city, isn’t required to have sprinklers because it was built in 1972, before the city’s fire and protection code was implemented.
Fire Department Capt. Rob Couture said the accidental fire at 751 Main St. occurred in the kitchen of a fourth-floor condominium. It was reported at 5:21 p.m..
“A lot of the doors had to get forced down to find the origin of the fire, but (firefighters) were able to quickly control the fire, so damage wasn’t that devastating,” Couture said.
“This is a four-story multi-unit building that was built before the requirement for sprinklers went into place,” Couture added. “They’re not required to have them because of this, and for the two largest residential buildings in the city to not have sprinklers, it’s a concern for us.”
Fire Chief James Wilson said damage to the building was estimated at $50,000.
Ann Kim, communications director of Red Cross of Maine, said the person displaced by the Monday evening fire was helped by disaster responders and is receiving aid for food and shelter.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.