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June 2, 2015

Rhode Island insurer sues Downeast Energy

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. of Rhode Island has sued Downeast Energy in federal court, claiming that a technician’s negligence caused a fire at an insured house in Freeport.

The Bangor Daily News reported that Amica, which filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on May 27, is seeking to recoup the roughly $750,000 costs associated with damages caused to a Freeport house by a three-alarm fire. The lawsuit alleges that a service technician working on behalf of Downeast Energy caused the fire while repairing a leaking fuel tank.

A report by a senior fire investigator at the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire began “when a fuel contractor was present, working on a leaking fuel tank, and vented the combustible vapor into the basement area using a shop vacuum. The vapors ignited or the vacuum failed and started a basement fire.”

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