Furnace, stove fires preventable
Lack of maintenance blamed in recent blazes

A recent rash of fires in Greater Bangor has investigators scratching their heads to determine causes. Many blazes, particularly ones stemming from furnace-related problems, are preventable, local fire officials say.

A faulty furnace is the suspected cause of a fire that destroyed Mitchell Antiques & Collectibles in Brewer last Saturday. The store's owner, David Mitchell, reported working on the boiler the previous day, and a clerk who discovered the fire said the initial smoke came from the furnace.

"The biggest problem is lack of maintenance and cleaning," Brewer Assistant Fire Chief Chris Dore said. "[Boilers] should really be looked at once a year by a qualified technician, sometimes twice a year."

The fire that ravaged the Masonic Hall in Bangor last Thursday is still under investigation, but some evidence suggests that it may have started in the 135-year-old building's boiler room.

But, despite the seeming increase in fires recently, Jason Johnson of the Bangor Fire Department said he hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"We do normally see an increase in overall fires this time of year, and it usually peaks in mid-February," Johnson said.

Frigid temperatures sweeping across Maine have made heating homes an issue, putting additional strain on home furnaces, said Keith Birmingham, service manager at Harley Plumbing & Heating in Bangor.

But as long as furnaces are installed properly and are maintained, Birmingham said, furnace owners shouldn't have cause for concern.

"Any mechanical or electrical thing can fail," Birmingham said. "But a lot of it is inexperience of the operator. A lot of the general public just aren't aware or haven't lived in a cold climate before."

Dore, Johnson and Birmingham all agreed that many furnace problems result from what is called delayed ignition, when oil builds up in the boiler but is not ignited. Often the buildup will produce smoke and soot, but rarely results in a fire, Dore said.

"A lot of times people will use the reset button on their furnace and each time they hit it, it keeps filling with a little bit of oil," Johnson said. "It's an obvious fire hazard, but there is really not much people can do."

Birmingham advised furnace owners to keep combustibles away from their boilers and to be cognizant of furnace limits during particularly cold days.

Old Town resident Justin Bronder, 23, ran into furnace problems a few weeks ago when the furnace at his French Island apartment went out during three very cold days, he said.

"The house isn't that old, but I don't think the furnace has probably been maintained that well," said Bronder, who notified his landlord of the problem immediately.

In addition to furnace-related problems, wood stoves have been a common culprit in recent fires. In Minot Saturday, a 19-year-old woman died when the log cabin she shared with her boyfriend burned down.

The cabin's furnace had failed the previous day, Maine Public Safety  Spokesman Stephen McCausland said, and the couple had been using the wood stove for heat.

An Amherst family was left homeless last Friday when a wood stove fire destroyed their mobile home. Fire officials also said a wood stove was to blame for a fire in Ashland last Wednesday that gutted a two-story home.

A copyright story from the Bangor Daily News by ERIC RUSSELL, OF THE NEWS STAFF: Wednesday, January 21, 2004.