Union Woman Badly Burned, Cause Of Belfast Fire Undetermined

The State Fire Marshal's Office issued updates on two recent fires, including one in which a Union woman was seriously hurt.

In Union, 76-year-old Sally Elliot was burned on Thursday when she tried to smoke a cigarette. Fire Marshals say she was outside Crawford Commons on Middle Road in Union, trying to light a cigarette, when her clothing caught fire. Staff members put the fire out and called for an ambulance. Elliot was taken to Miles Hospital in Damariscotta and was then transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Officials say she sustained severe burns to the upper half of her body.

Investigators say the cause of Thursday night's fire in Belfast that destroyed the offices of Penobscot McCrum on Pierce Street cannot be determined. The State Fire Marshal's Office says the fire started in the attic area and was reported by a cleaning crew at around  6 p.m., but because the damage was too extensive to determine the cause. An excavator was used in the investigation and so all that remains is the cellar. No one was injured in this fire.