Cigarette Blamed for Fire at Maine Apartment Complex

Officials are blaming a discarded cigarette for a fire that destroyed two apartments and damaged several others at a military housing complex in Kittery, Maine.

Fire Chief David O’Brien said the Saturday evening fire at the Admiralty Village complex started after a cigarette was discarded on the back deck of an apartment, igniting pine needles and other debris.

O’Brien estimated structural damages at more than $400,000.

The chief said many residents in the complex are Navy personnel who rent the units from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard while their submarines are being overhauled at the shipyard.