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CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Six area fire departments responded to a blaze that caused an estimated $250,000 worth of damage to two mountainside condominiums at Sugarloaf Sunday morning.
Fire broke out on a second floor deck near a hot tub and spread to the upper floors of two condominium units at the slope side Sugarloaf Commons II development off Mountainside Road on Sugarloaf Mountain.
Carrabassett Valley Fire Chief Courtney Knapp said he got the call at 8:21 a.m. Sunday morning that a fire was reported in one of the four-level, three-unit condominium buildings. The building was unoccupied at the time, “probably since ski season ended,” Knapp said.
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From the deck, the fire spread inside the condo unit owned by Linda Gifford of Readfield, and caused extensive damage to the top two floors. It also spread to the middle unit next door, causing “significant” damage to its fourth level, Knapp said.
Fire department crews from Carrabassett Valley, Eustis, Kingfield, New Portland, Phillips and Strong responded with an estimated 35 fire fighters. The fire was brought under control within a couple of hours, Knapp said. Following a “mop up” they left the scene at 3:30 p.m.
“It was a tremendous effort by everyone involved,” Knapp said, crediting fire crews with keeping the fire from spreading further. The left side unit of the building remained undamaged, despite being adjacent to the fire.
Investigators with the state’s Fire Marshal’s Office were on the scene this morning with Knapp to try to determine the cause of the blaze, which is “yet to be determined,” he said. A leading suspect may be the electrical service to the hot tub, which was drained and hadn’t been in use for months.
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