Firefighters work to clear smoke from the summer home of Edward Blair in Northeast Harbor on Thursday evening. The shingle-style cottage suffered heavy damage but no injuries were reported.—EARL BRECHLIN PHOTO

MOUNT DESERT — Flames erupted inside the wall at a large summer cottage on Manchester Road in Northeast Harbor on the afternoon of Feb. 26. The blaze at the $5.6 million property was the third structure fire in Northeast Harbor in four weeks. Firefighters from five area towns were called to help put out the blaze at the Edward McCormick Blair Sr. residence. Mr. Blair, a life trustee of College of the Atlantic, winters in the Chicago area.

A firefighter climbs through a window of the second floor of the Edward Blair summer cottage in Northeast Harbor as crews work to knock down flames believed to have been accidentally started by plumbers.—EARL BRECHLIN PHOTO

The scene was all too familiar for area firefighters and residents, who have seen the devastating loss of four Main Street businesses and another Northeast Harbor residence in the last seven months.

“There is no connection between the fires, it’s just coincidental,” said Chief Bender.

The state Fire Marshall’s office has determined that the cause of the latest blaze was accidental, he said. The blaze is likely related to the installation of a new boiler and heat exchanger by Northeast Plumbing, said Chief Bender. Crews from the company were reportedly on the scene doing some soldering of heating pipes shortly before the blaze erupted in an exterior wall of the home’s music room.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they observed smoke pouring out of the eves of the three-story shingle-style cottage. Fire crews smashed out windows and ran hose lines into the upper floors and hosed down several hot spots in the attic. A hole was also cut in the roof to allow smoke to escape.

The music room and the deck of the 5,091-square-foot home were heavily damaged, as was an upstairs bedroom and a portion of the attic. Crews used thermal imaging cameras to find where the fire was smoldering in the walls. Substantial smoke damage was observed throughout the rest of the unoccupied residence.

Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading into the rest of the balloon-framed structure built in 1895 despite the fact that the home did not have built-in firebreaks on any of its three stories, said Chief Bender.

Observers noted that containing a fire in a 100-year-old rambling wood structure is extraordinarily difficult. “It was a very good save,” one man said.

Firefighters from Mount Desert, Bar Harbor, Tremont, Southwest Harbor and Trenton assisted at the scene. The Northeast Harbor Ambulance Service provided emergency medical assistance to the firefighters on the scene during the blaze. No serious injuries were reported.

Despite their coincidental nature, the sheer number of fires has area residents nervous. The best thing to do is to make sure your home is secured by basic safety precautions, said Chief Bender. “People should keep in mind that early detection and quick response can minimize the damage substantially.”

If the alarm system at the Tan Turtle Tavern had been turned on at the recent fire there, the department may have been able to save the 3,300-square-foot structure. Instead, it was a total loss, he said. That fire has been linked to plumbing work on the building’s frozen pipes by a different company. See related story on page 1.

Also important is keeping a driveway clear of snow and smoke alarm batteries fresh, he said. These simple precautions go a long way in preventing a major incident. Initial reports of the fire were posted Friday evening on mdislander.com. Photos and a video of the firefighting efforts are on the website as well.

See video of the fire...

This story was last updated at 11:37 a.m. on March 5, 2009.