By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

 A fire Sunday that closed Red’s Dairy Freeze in South Portland was caused by a fan exhaust light in a bathroom, according to investigators.

“Either a wire shorted out or there was some other kind of malfunction,” said Lt. Robb Couture of the South Portland Fire Department.

Located at the busy intersection of Cottage Road and Highland Avenue, Red’s has been a local landmark in the Meetinghouse Hill neighborhood since 1952.

Owner Chris Bolling said Monday he hoped to meet with contractors soon to get a price for restoring his building, “so we can get back to work.”

He estimated it would take a few months before he could open for business again. Red’s season runs from late February to the end of October and employs 14 people, Bolling said.

Bolling learned of the fire at 3 a.m. Sunday, when he was awakened by a telephone call  from a longtime customer.

The customer was awakened by the smell of smoke and at first thought his own house was on fire, Bolling said. The customer called 911 to report the fire before calling Bolling.

Since getting the bad news, Bolling said his family has been in “a state of shock and disbelief. But stuff happens and we’ll get through it,” he said.

Thousands of customers flock to Red’s every season. On a warm day, it’s common to see the parking lot full of cars and dozens of people lined up to order milkshakes, banana splits and ice cream cones.

One of those customers is Shelly Littlefield of South Portland. Monday morning, Littlefield was having her car fixed at Cottage Road Service Center across the street from Red’s.

Littlefield said she has been taking her son, Storm, to Red’s for ice cream for three years. Littlefield said she was sad about the fire putting Red’s out of business.

“We’d scoot over here to Red’s because it was a nice little treat. I can’t wait until they open back up,” Littlefield said. “Even with the rainy summer that we had last year, we’d still sneak over to get an ice cream. There’s nothing better than going to a place to get ice cream. I just loved them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they get it open again.”

The business was started by Bolling’s father Leonard “Red” Bolling in 1952. Chris Bolling bought the business in the early 1980s.

The building never experienced a fire before Sunday.

About 20 to 25 firefighters from South Portland and Cape Elizabeth responded to the single-alarm blaze that was put out in about 20 minutes,  Couture said.

Nobody was hurt and the exterior of the building remains intact. The interior had extensive damage caused by the fire, smoke and water. 

“Outside it doesn’t look that bad. The damage inside was pretty significant,” Couture said. “They’re expecting everything to be a total loss on the interior.”

Bolling said the entire first floor will have to be gutted.

Most of his business equipment was destroyed by the fire but Bolling said he hopes he can save a few items.

“The air conditioner and the microwave melted from the heat,” Bolling said. “The ice cream machines I’ll be able to salvage I hope. Most everything else is gone.”

Couture said he could not estimate the financial loss caused by the fire because he didn’t know the value of the building’s contents. The property’s assessed value is $45,000, Couture said, but an insurance adjuster would have to determine the overall cost of the damage.

“It’s a remarkable business. The place has been around forever. Everybody in the city knows it,” Couture said. “Hopefully, he’ll be back in business soon.”

Bolling lamented the fact the fire happened just as he was coming into the busiest part of his season. Then, putting a positive spin on his personal tragedy, he laughed and said, “I get a little bit of a vacation which I’ve never had before in the summer.”

 Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.