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Nobody hurt in fire at Augusta Civic Center

By Craig Crosby ccrosby@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- About 150 people were forced from the Augusta Civic Center when a fire broke out near the second-floor ceiling Thursday.

Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said nobody was hurt in the fire, which broke out around 8:30 a.m.

"Fortunately, the civic center had an emergency action plan," Audette said. "They did an awesome job."

The fire, which burned insulation in a 40-foot-by-20-foot section in the storage area on the south side, was apparently caused by an electrical malfunction, Audette said. An electrical contractor has been working in the area.

"The electrical workers discovered a fire on the second floor near the ceiling," Audette said.

Audette said everything went as smoothly as could be hoped: Everyone evacuated quickly, firefighters arrived within two minutes and were met by civic center staff ready to lead them to the area of the fire, Audette said.

Firefighters from Gardiner and Togus also responded, Audette said. Crews remained at cleaning up and checking for hot spots for more than an hour.

"Everyone did an excellent job," he said.

The insulation was smoldering when firefighters arrived. Crews were able to quickly contain the threat and allow evacuated people to return to a section of building.

"We were fortunate we had a smaller group than what could have been," civic center Director Dana Colwill said.

No damage estimate was available. Colwill was expecting to meet with an insurance adjuster Thursday afternoon.

The building is still useable, but the storage area and two meeting rooms are not, Colwill said. Functions were scheduled in the rooms Thursday but civic center staff were able to shuffle the decks to accommodate everyone.

"There is still an odor," Colwill said.

"That odor will remain until the insulation is removed."

Colwill said he and other city emergency officials will gather in the near future to assess the evacuation and response to the fire.

"The key is we got (people) out of the building and nobody got hurt," he said. "It's always nice when things go according to plan."