Main Street fire in Falmouth damages complex of stores, apartments. What we know so far.

FALMOUTH ― A fire broke out Monday evening in the block of mixed-use buildings at 172-176 Main St. in downtown Falmouth, leaving three people injured, including two residents of the second floor apartments and a firefighter, authorities said Tuesday morning.

Lt. Craig O'Malley, fire prevention officer for the Falmouth Fire Department, said the fire broke out around 5:00 p.m. and originated from the second floor, just above the Twigs gift shop. He said the fire was upgraded to a three-alarm fire shortly after the fire broke out.

Residents of the apartments have been displaced by the fire, but O'Malley said their status was unknown by the Falmouth Fire Department Tuesday.

"The residents who were up above made their own way out of the building on their own, they evacuated out the back," O'Malley said. "The two residents who were transported to the hospital ... were residents of what appears to be the unit the fire started in."

O'Malley said their condition is unknown, adding the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Falmouth Fire and Police departments, as well as the State Police fire investigators through the Department of Fire Services. He said a private insurance company will also conduct their own investigation.

Firefighter had minor injuries and was treated and released, a fire official said

A firefighter who was injured at the scene sustained minor injuries, O'Malley said, and was treated and then released.

The power for the whole block was turned off by Eversource shortly after the fire broke out, O'Malley said, and was turned back on around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

Along with Falmouth, O'Malley said fire departments from Bourne, Mashpee, Sandwich, Joint Base Cape Cod, Cotuit, Centerville-Osterville-Marston-Mills and Hyannis responded to the scene.

George Brennan, former editor of the Martha's Vineyard Times, who lives about a block away, said he went down to see the fire Monday evening after spotting dramatic photos of flames and smoke on the community website Fabulous Falmouth.

"The police had Main Street blocked off in both directions. There were quite a few people out going to restaurants and police were diverting traffic around the area. The smoke was really thick, I did not linger too long. I didn't want to take in too much smoke," Brennan said.

Photos showed firefighters in ladder trucks getting above flames on the second floor to put them out.

"It's always scary to see something like that, a wood-framed building like that, but it could have been worse. The fire station is pretty close, and I think that helped," Brennan said of the complex, located next to Anejo Mexican Bistro and diagonally across from the town hall parking lot.

Several people gathered at the scene Monday night said they didn't want to comment.

The retail-residential building at 176 Main St., which is nearly 100 years old, sold for nearly $3 million in early August, according to the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds. The building houses Twigs, Sea Bags, Homespun Gardens and a seasonal restaurant, Pickle Jar Kitchen.

The Falmouth Police Department could not be reached for comment.

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter:@jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Falmouth fire update: 2 residents, firefighter injured, cause unknown