Firefighters battled a fire Wednesday at a property where a former psychiatric hospital in Portland was located and two buildings sustained significant damage.
Firefighters responded to 69 Marlborough St., property of the former Elmcrest Hospital, just after 4 a.m. and officials said no injuries are reported.
Two buildings at the site had significant damage.
Bob McDougall, the director of the Ruth Calendar House Museum of Portland, said there are three historically significant structures on the property. It’s not clear if any have been affected by the fire, but McDougal was concerned.
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“I was very concerned. My first reaction was to come over here and see how bad it was,” McDougall said.
The structures of most significance are the Brainerd House, which was built in 1852; as well as the Hart Jarvis House, a Greek Revival home constructed in 1829 for William Jarvis, Reverend of Trinity Church in Portland, according to the Elmcrest Campus Advisory Committee.
Another significant property is and the Sage House, which was built in the 1880s.
“It would be devastating. You can’t replace buildings like this,” McDougal said.
McDougal said there’s been an effort for a while to preserve this piece of property.
Several firefighters responded to battle the fire and traffic was affected.
It’s not clear what started the fire. The state fire marshal responded to investigate.
Local
Marlborough Street is closed at Main Street. To detour around the fire, drivers were urged to take an immediate right onto Pickering Street after coming over the bridge.
