LEWISTON — A downtown business was declared a total loss Sunday after an early morning smoldering fire attributed to overloaded extension cords destroyed its inventory.
Lewiston fire Capt. Tim Myers said that a report of smoke on the second floor of 258 Lisbon St. came in around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The African Store is located on the first floor of the brick building between Chestnut and Pine streets. No one was injured in the blaze.
According to Myers, crews did not discover any fire on the second floor of the structure and actually searched other floors of the multistory building before discovering the blaze on the first floor inside the store after feeling the storefront windows.
Myers said the cause of the smoldering fire was determined to be misuse of extension cords. He said upon entering the store fire crews found multiple extension cords that were overloaded. Most of the damage was caused by smoke and heat inside the store, but the structure itself is considered repairable.
Myers said the building is owned by Emilio Andoniades but did not know if he is the store owner as well. The upper floors of the building are apartments, but Myers did not know if any of them were occupied.
About 20 firefighters from Lewiston and Auburn responded to the early morning fire and cleared the scene about 6 a.m.
