A Maine native killed Monday when a carport collapsed at a Bar Harbor hotel was a longtime employee of the company that owned the property.
Mark A. King, 64, who was born in Old Town, worked for Ocean Properties Ltd. for more than 40 years and came to be known by colleagues as “Mr. Fix It,” according to his obituary. He most recently was a resident of Boynton Beach, Florida, not far from the resort firm’s offices in Delray Beach.
King died Monday when a carport canopy collapsed at the Bar Harbor Regency hotel, which is closed for the winter. First responders tried to rescue King from under the debris after the carport fell on him, but he was declared dead at the scene, according to town officials.
The collapse has been reported to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which oversees workplace safety regulations, but information about whether King was doing work on the canopy or what may have caused the collapse has not been released.
Heavy snow and ice have built up on roofs across Maine from storms this past month, and photos show that snow was on the canopy’s flat roof when it collapsed. The free-standing structure was built to provide shelter to motorists as they came and went from the hotel’s main entrance.
“Mark grew up with a strong work ethic and an unwavering commitment to those he cared for,” the obituary reads. “His hands could build, repair, and restore anything, but his greatest pride was in building a beautiful life for his family, no matter the cost.”
A celebration of life for King is planned in Bangor on Thursday, Feb. 27, according to his obituary.
A voicemail message left for King’s son was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.
Eben Salvatore, director of local operations for the company in Bar Harbor, said Tuesday that the company was mourning his death.
“Mark was like a family member and lifelong friend to the Walsh Family,” he said. “We are deeply saddened by his sudden passing and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Ocean Properties, which owns more than 80 hotels in the U.S. and Canada, was founded by Bangor native Thomas Walsh, who opened his first hotel in Brewer in 1969. Walsh passed away in 2018, but the company continues to be run by his family.
Salvatore declined to comment further on the collapse.
An OSHA spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that the agency is investigating King’s death. He said the company being inspected is Courtcon, Inc. and that the agency has six months to complete the inspection. But he declined to release details about what happened or speculate how long it might take to determine the cause of the collapse.
Courtcon, Inc. is an electrical contracting company and a subsidiary of Ocean Properties based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to online business profiles of the two companies.
Officials in the town of Bar Harbor’s code enforcement office said this week that there was no active work permit issued by the town to the hotel, so they did not have information about what King may have been doing when the collapse happened.
