Auburn Towne House Fire: Sprinklers Hold, Water Displaces Dozens

A kitchen fire on the top floor of a six-story public housing tower in Auburn, Maine, was stopped by the building's sprinklers on Sunday evening. The water that did the work, however, soaked lower floors and forced dozens of residents, many of them older adults or people with disabilities, out of their apartments for the night.

What happened

The fire broke out at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Lake Auburn Towne House, 74 Lake Auburn Avenue, according to WGME. The Auburn Fire Department said it began on a cooktop in a sixth-floor apartment. The sprinkler system activated and contained the flames, but WGME reported that it caused significant water damage on the floors below.

Residents were first moved to a nearby elementary school. WGME reported that many were allowed back after about six hours, while others could not return because their units were damaged or unsafe.

The building and who lives there

WABI reported that the Towne House is owned by the Auburn Housing Authority and serves people 62 and older and people with disabilities. It has 86 units, 32 efficiencies and 54 one-bedrooms, and sits next to Washburn Elementary School. That resident profile matters: people with limited mobility or fixed incomes have fewer options when an emergency removes them from home, and replacing lost belongings can be especially hard. Residents told WGME that many of their neighbors are seniors or live on low incomes, and that recovering lost belongings is a steep climb for them.

How many people were displaced

The numbers depend on who is counting and when. WABI reported that the Red Cross initially counted 76 people displaced, and that many then returned to their apartments or found other housing, leaving about 18 who could not arrange a place on their own. WGME, citing the fire department, reported that 12 residents spent the night in a shelter. Those figures are not necessarily in conflict, since one counts everyone initially affected and the other counts overnight shelter occupants, but they are not the same measure.

The fire department said 42 units were initially uninhabitable. By Monday afternoon, 10 remained so, according to WGME. None of the reports we reviewed mentioned injuries.

Shelter and aid

WABI reported that the Red Cross, at the city's request, set up an emergency shelter inside the Auburn Drop-In Center on Mill Street. The site opened at 11 p.m. Sunday with eight disaster volunteers and shut Monday morning, according to WGME. For residents who still cannot go home, the housing authority, the Red Cross and the city are coordinating, and the authority is placing people in other apartments in its portfolio.

Sophie Piconi, who leads the Red Cross chapter for central and mid-coast Maine, described the sudden loss of a home as deeply stressful, and said the group is coordinating recovery with the city, emergency management and community partners. Affected residents can reach the Red Cross by phone at 800-733-2767.

What this means for renters

The Auburn fire shows both the strength and the cost of sprinklers. The system did what it is designed to do: it kept a cooktop fire from spreading through a six-story building. But water damage from a sprinkler discharge can displace more households than the fire itself did. Renters in any building can take a few practical lessons from this:

• Ask about water as well as fire. Renters insurance typically covers belongings damaged by a sprinkler discharge, but check your policy for loss-of-use coverage if you cannot stay in the unit.
• Photograph your belongings now. A dated photo or video inventory speeds a claim.
• Know your building's emergency plan. Find where residents are directed after an evacuation, and ask management how it will communicate if units are closed.
• Ask for help early. Subsidized and public housing tenants can contact their housing authority for a transfer or temporary unit; others can ask the Red Cross and local emergency management.
• Never leave cooking unattended. Stovetop and cooktop fires are among the most common starts for apartment fires.

Our guide to renters insurance after a fire explains how loss-of-use coverage works.

The fire department described the fire's origin only as a cooktop fire, and none of the reports we reviewed gave a damage estimate.