Firefighters battle a blaze Saturday at 226 Blake St. in Lewiston. A man died trying to escape the fourth floor. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
LEWISTON — Police took three teenagers into custody Monday in connection with a Saturday fire at 226 Blake St. in which one man was killed.
Investigators determined the fire that destroyed the 10-unit apartment building was intentionally set, according to a statement released Tuesday by Maine Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Shannon Moss.
Two of the teens are 13 years old; one is 14 years old, Moss said. They were taken to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland for detention.
Felicien Betu, 70, was trapped in an apartment on the top floor of the four-story building.
“Emergency response personnel were making attempts to reach him when he jumped from a window in an attempt to escape the fire,” Moss said. “He died as a result of the injuries.”
Fire heavily damaged the top two floors, displacing nearly 30 people.
The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office was assisted during the investigation by the Lewiston Fire Department, the Lewiston Police Department, the Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office and the Maine Department of Corrections.
The investigation is ongoing.
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