ROCKLAND – A call to the Rockland Fire Department led to the closure of Park and Main streets (Route 1) Tuesday, May 23. A little after 11 a.m., the owner of the Park Street Grille, 279 Park Street, reported an odor similar to something burning. In addition, several people believed smoke was rising from the exterior roofline, according to Chief Chris Whytock.

Despite a thorough investigation, no evidence of fire surfaced, though harbor fog and dark condensation seen at roof level slowed the process.

“The roofline...when the sun came out, got up to about 150 degrees, and there is a lot of standing water up there,” Whytock said. “I think that, coupled with the heat, may have caused some steam to come rolling off. It was dark in color, so that kind of threw us for a little loop.”

All units of the fire department responded, bringing Thomaston along for their ladder, and, as always, Camden for their Rapid Intervention recovery Team. Rockport also responded. 

“Upon our arrival we saw what looked like smoke coming from the roof.” Whytock said. “And the occupants of the Park Street Grille confirmed that there was a burning smell inside their building, as well.”

Following a check of the roof, the possibility of fire underneath the flat roof line still existed because of rubber insulation and void space between the inner ceiling and roof.

“We went second alarm to get people here,” he said, “and found that we couldn’t find anything to support that inside the building. We checked crawl spaces. We checked attic spaces.”

Whytock and the fire department will continue to search for the cause of the initial odor.

“We think it may be a condenser unit that the has in the building itself,” Whytock said. “It may have been a little generation of heat that caused the odor.”

Whytock estimated about 15 people were evacuated from the building, which also houses a few other businesses, including the Midcoast Music Academy and a chiropractor’s office.

“Thankfully, it turned out to be, probably, nothing,” he said.

Whytock wrote in his report: “As with any fire within a building, the need for manpower and apparatus is always a priority. We need to be able to effectively and safely perform our jobs and we can only accomplish this with sufficient manpower. A big "Thank You" to all our mutual aid companies for answering the call anytime we need it. The dispatchers at Knox County Regional Communications Center are also to be thanked. They managed this call without a problem and that speaks volumes for their professionalism to the job.”

An estimated 40 fire personnel responded.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com