The town of Wiscasset has been fined $1,000 after its fire department violated air quality rules and created a public safety threat when it burned the old Huber’s Market on Route 1.
In a memo dated Jan. 3, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the Wiscasset Fire Department failed to remove waste material prior to the burn, did not investigate if asbestos or lead paint was present, did not have a written training plan and created a “nuisance and public safety threat” during the demolition of the Huber’s Market building.
The memo states that fluorescent light tubes, light fixtures, small appliances, aerosol and paint cans and other items appeared to have been burned inside the building in violation of state law. Billowing smoke from the fire also disrupted traffic on Route 1, creating a nuisance also in violation of state law, according to the document.