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Fire crews find source of Carmel false alarm

Posted Jan. 19, 2010, at 12:25 a.m.

CARMEL, Maine — Though it caused some tense moments early Monday morning, what initially appeared to be a fire at a three-unit apartment building on Hampden Road actually turned out to be smoke from a malfunctioning computerized furnace control box.

The melted box, which Carmel Fire Chief Mike Azevedo said controlled a furnace and pellet stove used for heating, malfunctioned shortly after 2 a.m. and created smoke that filled the building, triggering the smoke alarm and prompting four people to evacuate the apartment building at 33 Hampden Road, also known as Route 69.

After a room-by-room search of the building for signs of a fire, firefighters quickly located the source of the problem using a thermal imaging camera, Azevedo said.

He said that a furnace repairman arrived with a new control box as firefighters were preparing to head back to their station about 3:30 a.m. The residents also were allowed to return to their apartments.

Azevedo said damage was limited to the control box and that no one was injured. The building is insured.

Azevedo said that Monday’s incident, which drew fire crews from Carmel and several outlying towns, occurred across the street from a two-unit complex that burned in December, displacing six people as well as a dog and hamster.