Sprinkler system failed in Waterville fire, officials say

1:00 AM They suspect a cooking fire on a grill may have started the blaze, which damaged three buildings.

By RACHEL OHM Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE - A sprinkler system that was not working is to blame for much of the damage to a Main Street building that caught fire Friday afternoon, investigators said.

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Saturday morning, Mona Juliano sifts through items that can be salvaged from her tattoo studio, Ink-4-Life.

Michael G. Seamans/Waterville Sentinel

"Because the sprinklers were not working, that allowed for extensive fire damage inside the building," Waterville Fire Department Chief David LaFountain said Saturday. "It could have been a lot less."

The cause of the fire at 18 Main St. and the reason the sprinkler system was not working are still under investigation, although the fire is known to have originated from the porch of a third-floor apartment, said LaFountain.

"We are pretty sure it was related to a cooking fire on a grill, but we need to do more work," he said.

The building at 18 Main St., which is owned by John Weeks, a former Waterville police officer, contains three apartments as well as two businesses on the ground floor. The entire building was extensively damaged by the fire Friday afternoon, said LaFountain.

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Sprinkler system failed in Waterville fire, officials say