LEWISTON — Police, the fire department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office on Saturday were investigating a “suspicious” College Street fire that left one man in critical care.

Fire Capt. Larry Morin said the fire started on the back porch at 92 College St. and spread up to the third floor before midnight Friday. Fire officials responding to the scene removed two men from the first-floor apartment. One man, who had been visiting that address, had injuries more severe than the other.

“He’s in critical care right now (at Central Maine Medical Center), mainly as a result of smoke inhalation,” police Sgt. Marc Robitaille said.

Robitaille was unsure of the second man’s condition. He declined to release either man’s name, citing the pending investigation.

Police might try to reach out to “persons of interest” over the weekend, he said. “It is suspicious.”

Morin described 92 College St. as three apartments that are connected to 94 College St., a rooming house with seven units, by shared gas and power. At the scene, the American Red Cross helped seven people, three from the apartments and four from the rooming house. Not everyone who lived in the buildings was home at the time, Morin said, including the man who lived in the third-floor apartment, which got the brunt of the flames.

“He was very lucky; it went quickly,” Morin said.

The Lewiston Fire Department cleared the scene at 3 a.m., with help from Auburn. Damage to 92 College St. was estimated at $100,000. The building, owned by Joe Dunn, was deemed uninhabitable for now, Morin said.

Tenants in the rooming house, which was saved, won’t be able to move back in until the shared power and gas can be separated. A tally of the total number of people displaced wasn’t available.

kskelton@sunjournal.com