Eastport blaze destroys house

The owner of an Eastport home and attached garage that were destroyed by a late-night fire on December 13 believes the blaze was started by a manufacturer's defect in the car that was in the garage. A nearby house also owned by Cecil Cates was damaged, but firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings in the close-packed grouping of homes by the corner of Water and Wilson streets in the city's north end.
Cates was in the nearby house watching television with Lisa Morrison and their 10-year-old daughter Jay-Len when he noticed a flicker of light outside the window around 11:30 p.m. When he ran outside to the garage the top of the garage door collapsed "and a 20-foot sheet of flames shot all the way to the street," he says. Going back to the house, the windows along the outside wall of the garage and 4 Wilson St. house where he lives "were busting." He yelled to Morrison and their daughter to get out of the 138 Water St. house and moved his truck that was in the drive to Water St. He says an explosion then went off "and blew flames out of every window" in the garage and also in the 4 Wilson St. house. He and two neighbors all had called the fire department, and Cates went into his 138 Water St. house and "plugged up the sinks and showers" before getting out and waiting for the firefighters.
"The fire department did a phenomenal job," Cates says, putting out the fire along the east wall of the 4 Wilson St. house. Eastport Fire Chief Richard Clark says the garage and part of the house were engulfed in flames when they arrived. About 20 firefighters from Eastport, Pleasant Point and Perry fought the blaze, using three trucks from Eastport and one each from Pleasant Point and Perry. The Eastport ladder truck was used in helping to put out the fire. Along with the fire departments, Downeast EMS and the Eastport and Pleasant Point police departments responded to the scene.
Clark says the fire was threatening the 138 Water St. house, which is just a few feet south of the 4 Wilson St. home. Cates notes that the wind was blowing to the north, which helped save the house. The next house going up Wilson St., which is very close, also was saved. "The fire marshal said we made a good stop," says Clark. "We did about the best we could."
The 4 Wilson St. house, which Cates bought a few years ago from his parents, Alice and the late Warren Cates, "is a complete write-off. It's totalled," says Cates. His mother now lives in Florida during the winter months but stays there in the summer.
The 138 Water St. house suffered "extensive damage" from water and smoke, Cates says, with the north wall needing to be replaced. Both the garage and the Kia Sorento owned by Morrison were destroyed.
An investigator with the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office inspected the site on December 16. According to Clark, the fire started in the garage, with the cause undetermined. Cates says, "In my opinion, the Kia burst into fire." He points out that Kia Sorentos have caught fire without warning in the U.S., and although there have been recall notices they have not mentioned the risk of fire. He believes that the automobile manufacturer and dealer "are guilty for not telling us about fixing it." According to Consumer Affairs, Kia has issued recall notices for some of its cars due to an engine problem that can cause fires, but the Center for Auto Safety has urged the recalling of more Kia vehicles to properly address the fire risk.
Cates says that his mother and Morrison "suffered big losses" and that their daughter was "traumatized" by the fire. He adds that he "lost everything." His business office was in the 4 Wilson St. house, so all of those records were destroyed. "It was such a hot fire that we had silver coins that we were going to give out for Christmas, and I found of lump of melted silver. And the fire marshal said he had never seen a car melted to the extent this one melted."
Cates also lost artwork and a gun collection, while his mother lost "a lifetime of collections," along with family heirlooms, first editions of books, family paintings and genealogy and historical records of Indian Island. "We're multi-generational hoarders," Cates says, noting that the property has been in his family for four generations. "My great-grandfather Cecil Chaffey moved there from Indian Island."
All the property is insured, and Cates says three insurance companies are now involved. A benefit for Cates, Morrison and their daughter was held at the Eastport Elementary School on December 20. The three are presently staying at a neighbor's house.