Bridgton structure fire displaces 16 people
Bridgton Residents Displaced After Kitchen Fire in 16‑Unit Apartment Building
A kitchen blaze that erupted early Sunday morning in Bridgton forced 16 residents to leave their homes, the town’s fire department said. The fire broke out in a 16‑unit apartment complex on Main Street, and investigators are still piecing together how it started.
Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland reported that the fire was first reported just after 10 a.m. The crew arrived at about 10:15 a.m. and battled flames that had spread from the kitchen into the building’s insulation. “It could have been started by something on top of the stove and that it had spread into the building’s insulation,” Garland said.
Firefighters worked through the morning and into the early afternoon, finally putting the fire out at roughly 1:30 p.m. The blaze left significant damage in the attic, and Garland explained that the structure is now “structurally unsafe for residents to return.”
No injuries were reported. The chief said the only cost of the incident was the loss of safe living space for the building’s occupants.
When an ember in the insulation reignited around 2:30 p.m., the crew returned to the scene and fought the re‑ignition for an additional two hours before the fire was fully extinguished.
Because the building was deemed unsafe, Bridgton officials called for mutual aid from nearby towns and the American Red Cross. The Red Cross is helping displaced residents find temporary housing and supplies while investigators continue to examine the cause of the fire.
“We’re still investigating the incident,” Garland said. The fire department has not yet released a full report, but it has confirmed that the blaze started in the kitchen and that the building’s insulation played a role in the spread.
Residents are currently staying with relatives, in hotels, or in temporary shelters provided by the Red Cross and neighboring communities. The town has asked anyone who lived in the building to contact the Bridgton Fire Department for assistance and updates.
The fire department is working to keep the community informed as more information becomes available.
