UPDATED: 9:28 AM Dec 26, 2024

By Paul Sylvain

Firefighters from Machias and surrounding towns struggled against single-digit temperature and unrelenting winds that enveloped them in thick breath-choking smoke to battle a Christmas Eve fire at the Bluebird Motel on Route 1/Dublin Street  in Machias.

That’s according to Machias Fire Chief Joey Dennison, who, on Wednesday — though still exhausted from the experience the previous night — recounted the details of the Christmas Eve fire.

Despite the many obstacles encountered by first responders, volunteer firefighters saved more than half of the motel’s main building. Two additional motel buildings behind the main building were not damaged by the fire.

Clarifying some of the earlier reported information, Dennison said the first respondents arrived at the Bluebird around 8:40 p.m. The chief said the fire was called in by an on-site manager who stays in a residence attached to a separate office building. That building was not damaged.

Soon after Machias responded to the scene, additional mutual aid units from Marshfield, East Machias, Machiasport, and Jonesboro were summoned to help battle the blaze.

Dennison said the fire appeared to start in the end unit at the far west side of the motel The end-most unit “was fully involved when we got there,” he said. From there flames started spreading rapidly eastward from the attic into adjacent units.

As Dennison explained, the Bluebird is an older building that does not have attic fire walls between each unit. As a result, the attic acts like a wind tunnel allowing flames to shoot through the entire length of the building.

The chief said he arrived shortly after his department’s firefighters had begun fighting the blaze. “It looked like just smoke was coming off the roof,” said Dennison. However, while searching for a place to make what he called a “trench cut” — which basically creates a fire break to stop flames from spreading — he took a thermal reading of the attic from 60 feet away and recorded a temperature of 300 degrees.

According to Dennison the fire occurred on one of the coldest nights he’s ever fought a fire in. The combination of temperatures falling to around six degrees with 15- to 20-mph winds resulted in critical equipment issues. 

“Air packs froze up, truck hoses froze, the ladder truck froze up and we couldn’t retract the ladder,” Dennison said. A portion of the roof collapsed on a hose that had to be replaced while grappling with the fire.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he lacked enough bodies to fight such a stubborn, wind-driven fire on Christmas Eve.

”I don’t believe we had more than 20 people there fighting it,” Dennisons said. “We were very limited.”

And the wind, which the chief said “was blowing in the wrong direction,” kept the firefighters enveloped by thick smoke the whole time. “You know it’s bad when the excavator operator has to wear an air pack,” Dennison said.

The chief also clarified some initial confusion about an excavator from Old School Construction that was brought in to create a firebreak to stop the flames from spreading. Dennison said that one of his firefighters works for Old School Construction and, at Dennison’s request, obtained the company’s approval to get the excavator and use it to assist putting out the fire. Dennison explained that, whenever possible, firefighters try to do a trench cut to stop flames from spreading. As he noted, an excavator creates much more destruction, which can result in compromising any evidence at the scene.

Machiasport volunteer firefighter David Cale, who was not at the fire because of an injury at home, said, “I know it went up fast, and the only reason they saved a section of the building was because Old School brought in an excavator.” 

Among first responders was Machias Ambulance Service Chief Ryan Maker. The ambulance chief said his team “assessed and treated multiple victims from the fire for  minor smoke inhalation,” and added that those who were treated were occupants at the motel. No first responders were injured or treated at the scene. According to Maker and the fire chief, there were only three known occupants renting rooms at the motel at the time of the fire.

Dennison, meanwhile, said although the last fire truck left the Bluebird at around 2 a.m. Christmas, he remained on scene until the state fire marshal arrived. As the chief explained, at least one unit has to remain behind to ensure the integrity of the scene until the fire marshall arrives. Dennison said he was the last one to leave at about 3:42 a.m.

By noon Christmas, a crew from Versant was busy at the motel, working from a bucket truck to restore electrical power to the Bluebird’s office and manager’s residence. Several social media posts from the motel and its employees suggest that the motel will resume operating soon.

The fire remains under investigation.

A passerby took this photo shortly after it started and was reported to the Machias Fire Department on Christmas Eve. The fire appears to have begun in a unit near the far western end of the motel, before spreading eastward to other units. (Photo from unknown source, courtesy Tyler Sylvain)

Firefighters pouring water from a ladder truck to knock down flames that broke through the roof at the Bluebird Motel on Christmas Eve. (Photo courtesy Tyler Sylvain)

A portion of the Bluebird Motel in Machias became a raging inferno for several hours on Christmas Eve. (Photo courtesy Tyler Sylvain)

Two firefighters, silhouetted against flames and partially obscured by thick smoke, battle the Christmas Eve fire at the Bluebird Motel  (Photo courtesy Tyler Sylvain)

Other than minor smoke inhalation experienced by several occupants at the Bluebird Motel, no other injuries were reported in the Christmas Eve fire. While this portion of the main building was destroyed, firefighters saved an even larger section of the motel. (Photos courtesy Paul Sylvain)