At least five people were killed and one was injured after a major fire broke out in an apartment building near a university in Portland, one of the deadliest fire to hit the U.S. city in 30 years.
According to State Fire Marshal Joe Thomas, eyewitnesses told investigators that the fire started at the front porch of the apartment near University of Southern Maine on Saturday.
The five deceased were yet to be identified, officials said, adding that none of the victims were university students.
The University of Southern Maine said there were students in the building, but there were no information of injury to any of them. “At this time we have confirmed that there were USM students residing in the building, however we have no information as to any injuries to the USM students,” the statement from the University said.
Seven tenants escaped the fire by jumping off from the building.
One man jumped from the second floor to escape the inferno, but suffered severe burns, a local news channel said.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. “This investigation will last until it ends and that could be several days. With the amount of agencies involved, the extent of the damage and the number of victims, there are a lot of parts to this investigation,” Portland Fire Chief Jerry LaMoria told reporters at a news conference.
