After two months of investigation, the Office of State Fire Marshal concluded the fire that destroyed Schooner Landing Restaurant and Marina in Damariscotta on Sept. 1 was accidental.
Investigators found that electrical circuitry under the pier likely overheated and caused the fire, Maine Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Shannon Moss said Monday.
With the news of the investigation’s completion, Schooner Landing co-owners Caleb Jones and Scott Folsom immediately started removing debris the same day.
“This is happy, this is where hope starts, this is where we stand on the property with a blank slate and say ‘All right, what can we do to get back to something and how are we going to do it?’” Jones said. “It’s really hard to envision things sometimes when you’re standing in rubble.”
The Lincoln County Communications Center paged the Damariscotta, Newcastle and Bristol fire departments to Schooner Landing, at 47 Main St. in Damariscotta, at approximately 3 a.m. on Sept. 1 for flames coming from the south side of the restaurant. Bremen, Nobleboro and Waldoboro firefighters were paged to the scene shortly after to provide mutual aid. The Lincoln County Firefighter Strike Team also responded.
Crews utilized three hydrants on Main Street in Damariscotta and Newcastle, flowing approximately 250,000 gallons of water to subdue the fire. According to Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts, at the height of the blaze, firefighters were using 2,000 gallons of water a minute, which is roughly the amount a tanker can hold.
“I’ve never experienced a fire like this before and everybody in the community felt it, it was just such a huge loss,” Jones said. “Standing around the rubble for the past few months has been exhausting.”
Since Sept. 1, the remains of the restaurant have sat untouched on the pier as the investigation took place.
With the investigation closed, Hanley Construction and Ocean’s Edge Marine Construction, both of Bristol, began removing debris Monday. According to Stewart Hanley, co-owner of Hanley Construction, the estimate for debris removal was 205 tons, which is approximately 410,000 pounds.
“It’s a lot easier to envision those things once the debris is gone,” Jones said.
While the exact plan for the restaurant’s rebuilding isn’t clear or solidified yet, Jones said he and Folsom expect whatever form the business takes in the reconstruction next spring won’t be its final state. He added the process of rebuilding will be a multi-year endeavor.
“Most likely, the steps we’re trying to take [are] to clean up and rebuild something on the original footprint to allow us to go ahead and make a plan or offering food, drink, music in a place that the community can come back to,” Jones said. “Next spring, we don’t see it being the final result but we’d like to do it in stages so that we can function in this place … it’s important to us to keep it going for the community so that it’s not just an empty space for the next year and a half, two years.”
An informal committee of interested engineers and local builders has formed to help figure out how to move forward with rebuilding the restaurant, according to Jones.
With the investigation closed and changes coming down the line for Schooner Landing, Jones said the business will be better about communicating with the public via social media about the process of rebuilding.
“We’re going to be better about keeping people up to date now that things are in motion. It was hard to make posts because we didn’t really have any answers,” he said. “From the Schooner team, we’re getting excited and I think everyone else should be too, because we’re going to get this place back going and start a new era.”
To keep up to date with information about Schooner Landing’s rebuilding efforts, follow the business’s Instagram account at @schoonerlanding_maine or Facebook page.
This article appears through a media partnership with The Lincoln County News.
