The cause of a weekend fire at a popular restaurant in Maine has been determined to be accidental, authorities said Sunday.
The blaze broke out just before 4 a.m. Sunday at the Last Unicorn restaurant on Silver Street in Waterville. Arriving units located a large fire in the rear of the building, fire officials said. Conditions quickly deteriorated inside the building, and crews were ultimately called out of the building due to the conditions and falling debris inside.
Numerous fire departments from neighboring communities provided assistance at the scene. Three firefighters suffered minor burn injuries, but all of them have since been treated and released from local hospitals.
All of the civilians in an adjacent apartment building were evacuated safely.
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An excavator was called in to help prevent the fire from spreading to two other nearby restaurants, the Sliver Street Tavern and Cancun Restaurant. At one point officials said the fire did start to extend into the Cancun Restaurant, however, firefighters were able to quickly knock down that fire and prevent it from spreading. There was some light smoke damage to adjacent buildings.
The fire scene investigation continued throughout the day, with the state Fire Marshal's Office saying on Sunday afternoon that the fire originated in an area where cleaning rags were stored, and the cause was determined to be accidental.
Silver Street in the area of the fire was closed for about seven hours before reopening around 11 a.m. Sunday. Fire officials said they and other city departments will be working with the building owner in the coming days to ensure that the area is clean, safe and secure for the public.
