Investigators in Southbridge say they do not believe there is a connection between two fires that broke out a half-mile apart on Sunday — including a six-alarm afternoon blaze that tore through a section of downtown.
The two blazes destroyed a Main Street building and damaged several other buildings, officials said. Four firefighters suffered minor injuries including heat exhaustion and dehydration.
The first fire started at around 2:20 p.m. Sunday at 310 and 312 Main Street, said Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state fire marshal’s office. The building houses a mixture of businesses and apartments, and investigators are still working to determine the cause.
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The building at 310 Main Street, where the fire began and caused the most damage, will have to be demolished, Southbridge Deputy Fire Chief Paul Normandin said. The adjacent building sustained smoke and water damage but can be repaired.
At least 12 people were displaced from their Main Street apartments in that fire, Mieth said.
The second fire, at 7:45 p.m., broke out at 8 Benefit Street, Mieth and Southbridge Firefighter Scott Peck said.
The building had three apartments, and three families living there were displaced after the fire, Normandin said.
Normandin estimated the families included about 15 people, but Mieth said the state investigator believed it was nine. The Red Cross is working to find all the displaced residents a place to live.
The Benefit Street blaze may have been started by smoking materials, investigators said. Normandin said the flames were concentrated in only one or two rooms, with the rest of the building suffering severe smoke damage.
He did not estimate how much it would cost to repair the damaged buildings on Main Street or Benefit Street.
Dylan McGuinness can be reached at dylan.mcguinness@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DylMcGuinness.
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