THORNDIKE — Firefighters were able to put out a fire that destroyed a garage and threatened a home Saturday morning, even though the resident of the home threatened to kill crew members.
Thorndike Fire Capt. Henry Chaffee said Sunday that one of the department’s volunteer firefighters, Reginald Cunningham, spotted smoke from a residence on the East Gulch Road shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Crews from Troy and Thorndike arrived to find a shed on fire and the occupant of the home, a man estimated to be his mid-50s, threatening to kill anyone who tried to put it out. The man told the firefighters he was trying to destroy the demon spirits, Chaffee said.
The man, who was not armed, went back inside the home, then came back out and assaulted one of the firefighters. He was tackled and held by crew members until Waldo County Deputy Jim Porter arrived. The man was taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The firefighters were not injured.
That standoff delayed efforts to put out the fire by about 20 to 30 minutes, Chaffee said. The garage was destroyed by the fire and one exterior wall was damaged to the home, but crews otherwise were able to save the residence, Chaffee said.
The state fire marshal sent an investigator, who was at the scene with local fire officials Saturday afternoon.
Porter said in a news release that the occupant was suffering from some sort of manic episode. The man, who is not being identified, suffered self-inflicted cuts and bruises.
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