By Ann Bryant
The Sun Journal
LIVERMORE FALLS, Maine — Trained to respond to emergencies, two Livermore Falls firefighters went into action early Sunday morning, helping identify the injured when a fire escape collapsed at The Rack pub in Carrabassett Valley.
Firefighters James Butler and Tim Toothaker were there with friends to enjoy the music of the annual Reggae Festival, Butler said Tuesday. They had just arrived at the pub and found it “mobbed with people, hundreds inside and out,” he said.
Thinking it was less crowded on the second floor, they went upstairs and within minutes they heard a loud noise and saw a commotion in one corner, he said. Someone grabbed Toothaker and told him the deck had just collapsed, Butler said.
Their first thought, he said, was “let’s go.” They ran downstairs and pushed their way through the crowd to get outside. From the side of the building, people were shouting and the area was dark, he said.
Using an application on his cell phone that serves as a flashlight, he found a pile of people and immediately tried to determine who was most injured, he said. One person had a broken arm and cut on the forehead and another had a head injury, he said.
Carrabassett Valley Police and Fire Department and NorthStar ambulance were quick getting to the scene, he said. The firefighters stayed to help load patients onto backboards. Four were taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.
“It was a hectic few minutes, well half-hour,” Butler said. “We couldn’t hear or see if more people were trapped. While this was happening, people inside didn’t know what was going on.”
The pub was shut down immediately.
The wooden structure built to serve as a fire escape had an awning over the top of the landing with a door that swung out over the balcony. The metal awning could have seriously hurt someone if it had fallen but it was held up by the open door, Butler said.
Later Sunday morning, Butler went back to take a photo and found some wood had been moved and the awning had fallen after someone shut the door.
“We were in the right place at the right time,” Butler said.
Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office are continuing to sort out what happened, Sgt. Ken Grimes said Tuesday. The Monday holiday and state shutdown day Tuesday slowed the work, he said. The initial cause is believed to be too many people on the fire escape, he said.
Carrabassett Valley Police Chief Scott Nichols said he is interviewing people involved in the accident.
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