Paris Fire Station damaged by rainwater

Jan. 25--PARIS -- A section of the Fire Station was damaged Thursday afternoon when rainwater poured into the building at 137 Western Avenue.

Deputy Fire Chief Mark Blaquiere said the rain and ice on the ground caused water to back up between the fire station and the adjacent Rush Fitness gym and rush under the door by the meeting room, running into several back rooms that contain sleeping areas.

"There was no place for it to go, so it went to the weakest part," he said.

It took firefighters, with assistance from Oxford Fire and Rescue, more than an hour to get the water out of the building using a wet vac floor machine and several personal wet vacs, he said.

At least one carpet in one of the sleeping rooms is soaked, but the overall damage to the building was unclear.

Blaquiere said the town's insurance company will be on site Friday, and by Monday he will have more information about the amount of damage.

Oxford Fire also responded to a report of water damage in a vacant storefront leased by Rightstart for its coat room Thursday morning. The damage to the storefront, which is adjacent to Ocean Pearl Restaurant, is unknown at this time. An employee the restaurant said the water did not enter the restaurant.

___

(c)2019 the Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)

Visit the Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine) at www.sunjournal.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.