OLD TOWN, Maine — A man has died and a woman has been rescued following a fire at an apartment complex in Old Town Sunday morning.
At approximately 5:11 a.m., the Old Town Fire Department responded to a fire at 1015 Stillwater Avenue, a multi-unit apartment building, according to a news release from Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss.
Kyle Milan, deputy chief of Old Town Fire Rescue, told NEWS CENTER Maine the fire happened in a unit upstairs. He said one man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
But amid the loss, a stroke of good timing saved another tenant's life. Ryan Parkhurst arrived home just feet from the burning building after picking up his ex-girlfriend who missed her flight at a nearby airport.
"By the time I pulled into the driveway, that's when I noticed there was a fire," Parkhurst said Sunday.
He said he then rushed over and began banging on the first floor entrance door of the building to see if anyone was inside. Upstairs, the sound from below shook Heidi Raphaela-Alamosa from sleep.
As she awoke, Raphaela-Alamosa said she saw the smoke and flames around her, and quickly grabbed the extension cord of her vacuum and threw it out of her apartment window. Then she jumped.
"I seriously repelled...started hanging out the window. I told the... [dispatcher], 'I'm going out,'" Raphaela-Alamosa remembered.
Below, Parkurst and and Old Town Police officer were waiting.
"She started hanging from an extension cord and me and one of the cops had to catch her," Parkhurst said.
Safe and on the ground, Raphaela-Alamosa reflected on the actions of others that saved her life.
"I always hear on the news, like, this awful event brought out the best in everybody. But it's true," Raphaela-Alamosa said.
However, not everyone in the building made it out before the fire took its toll.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss confirmed Sunday that 71-year old Banton Foster, who lived in the building, died from his injuries.
"There wasn't really a good access point," Parkhurst explained of Foster's apartment, "I feel like where it started, it was probably too late for me to get him."
According to Moss, there were working smoke detectors in the apartment building at the time of the fire.
The Orono Police Department, Old Town Fire and Rescue, Milford Fire and Rescue, Veazie Fire Department, Bradley Fire Department, Milford Rescue, and Orono Rescue also responded to the scene Sunday.
If you would like to make a donation to help Heidi Raphaela-Alamosa, you can follow this link to a Go Fund Me set up by her daughter here.