FAIRFIELD — Officers rescued a man with a prosthetic leg from his burning home on Military Avenue on Monday.
The fire was contained to the attic, according to Fairfield Fire Chief Duane Bickford.
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“It was a good quick stop by our guys,” Bickford said, adding that the presumed cause of the blaze was a problem in the electrical system.
Police Officer Jacob Pierce was the first responder to the scene, arriving shortly after the call went out at 12:44 p.m.
Pierce said smoke was coming from the upper level of the building when he arrived, and a neighbor was holding the front door of the house open.
The resident, Jeff Macklin, initially refused to leave the home, which he rented from his sister, PIerce said. Macklin told Pierce the only problem was the smoke billowing from each end of the attic.
Macklin eventually was escorted outside by Pierce, fellow officer Karen O’Donnell and Capt. Michael Murphy of the Fire Department.
Pierce deflected suggestions that his actions were heroic, and said instead that it was “all in a day’s work.”
Macklin, visibly upset, stood outside for more than an hour as emergency officials from Fairfield, Waterville and Winslow doused the flames.
About 1 p.m., June Hamlin, the house owner and Macklin’s sister, arrived and offered comfort to her brother.
Hamlin said she learned of the fire when she was driving by the neighborhood and noticed emergency vehicles outside the property.
She said she has owned the home since 1971 and that all of her brother’s belongings were inside.
The house was insured, according to Hamlin.
The fire appeared out by 1:30 p.m. and emergency officials left the property at 2:30 p.m., according to Bickford.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287
mhhetling@centralmaine.com
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