By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

A nonprofit agency is asking for the community’s help nearly a week after a fire destroyed a group home in Saco.

Officials with Volunteers of America, a national nonprofit providing local human service programs, say they need help replacing the belongings of six residents after fire tore through their home at 24 Bradley St. last Friday afternoon. The building housed adults living with severe mental illness, said Glenn Michaels, director of marketing and public relations for the organization. 

A resident and staff member home at the time escaped safely when smoke detectors sounded, according to fire officials. Fire crews later rescued all of the residents’ pets.

The fire was reported at 12:10 p.m. and crews from Saco, Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach and Goodwins Mills rushed to the scene. A South Portland rescue crew arrived later and other towns provided station coverage for other calls, said Deputy Fire Chief John Duross. 

Duross said the “stubborn” fire quickly spread into the attic, where firefighters had to fight flames in hidden spaces. With dozens of area residents surrounding the scene to watch, firefighters used axes and saws to knock holes in the roof and sprayed water through broken windows.

Within an hour of arriving, sirens, horns and bells rang loudly to alert firefighters they needed to get out of the building. Duross said no firefighters were in danger but the fire had moved above them and the decision was made to fight the flames from outside. 

Steve Kelley of Limerick was working in a nearby building when he heard sirens and alarms and went outside to see what was going on. He said he heard breaking glass and worried the fire department wouldn’t have time to save the building.

“[Flames] were coming out of the second story window. It was a lot of heat. I could feel it a 100 feet away,” he said.

George Cromwell, who lives two houses down from the fire, said he arrived home just as the fire started. He said flames were easily visible through windows on the second and third floors. His 9-year-old daughter, Georgia, said her father told her about the fire and she came out to watch firefighters put out the flames. 

Standing in a parking lot with the Cromwells, Emily Gross, 9, of Saco, and Ashleigh Barney, 10, of Florida, watched firefighters work. The pair, still in bathing suits, heard sirens and alarms while swimming in a nearby pool. 

“We saw smoke, then we heard sirens,” Gross said. “We got close enough to hear the fire alarms go off.”

Across the street, Ron Dube watched as firefighters sprayed water on the side of the building closest to his home next door. His car, parked haphazardly in the driveway, was covered with ash and water. The 19-year-old was home with his younger sister when the fire started and they tried to move the family cars out of the driveway but ran out of time. He said he hoped his car only had smoke damage.

Judy Dube, Ron’s mother, rushed home when her son called. She said firefighters eventually allowed the family to move a motor home from the driveway to the backyard to get it out of the way, but her Jeep was still parked within feet of the burning building. As she watched siding fall onto her car, Judy Dube said she was concerned that her cat, still in the house, would be harmed if smoke got in through the open windows.

Joanne Bernier, a first-floor resident of 24 Bradley St., was out on her weekly shopping trip when her direct-support provider, Donna Packard, received a call about the fire. Bernier said she was worried about her cat and two parakeets inside.

Duross said crews spent nearly six hours on scene putting out flames and dealing with a partial roof collapse. The state Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire, which started inside the building, he said. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion. 

Michaels said everyone at Volunteers of America was relieved no residents were injured and pets were saved. Firefighters did an “incredible” job fighting the fire, he said.

“We were very lucky because there was only one resident in the building at the time,” he said. “You couldn’t have asked for more. We were very, very lucky.”

Michaels said the fire has been difficult for residents because they lost all their belongings and home. Five residents have been placed in temporary homes and one in a hotel while the organization looks for another building, he said. 

The outpouring of support from the community and the support of staff makes everyone feel “really good,” Michaels said. 

“It’s a terrible thing to experience,” he said. “The staff has just stepped up and made the transition as easy as possible for the residents.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.

Nonprofit seeks donations to help fire victims