Portland firefighters say they quickly extinguished a fire in an apartment building Monday after spotting smoke while returning from a training exercise.
They say they discovered a fire burning on the fourth-floor porch at the rear of the building at 12 Weymouth Street.
Firefighters say the two-alarm fire was extinguished 12 minutes after being dispatched at 10:54 am.
They say the potentially high number of people in the building, the risk of extension into the building, especially the roof, and the warm, humid conditions presented critical challenges.
Firefighters say lines were stretched quickly to the fourth floor while searches were conducted throughout the building. Several people were assisted from the building with an all clear accomplished within the first few minutes of the fire attack.
No injuries were reported, and firefighters say a working fire alarm system played a key role in alerting residents.
The Portland housing safety office was also sent to the scene. It’s not known how many people were displaced by the fire.
Park Avenue and Weymouth Street were temporarily closed during the operation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation with no cause or origin information at this time.
