A fire at a house on Lovers Lane in New Gloucester at 12:40 a.m. Thursday caused too much damage to determine its cause, firefighters said.
Early Thursday morning, a man living in the house was wakened by the sound of smoke detectors, said New Gloucester Fire and Rescue Capt. Scott Doyle. The man told firefighters he searched for fire, but found only smoke. He then ran to a neighbor’s house to call for help.
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A Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy who was first to respond to the call found the home engulfed in flames, Doyle said.
“The high winds, icy and narrow driveway made extinguishing and providing water to the fire extremely difficult,” Doyle said.
Doyle said firefighters had to lay 500 feet of water supply hose by hand because icy conditions in the driveway, which he estimated at 1,000 feet long, limited firetrucks’ access.
The fire took about an hour to put out.
Then at noon, firefighters were summoned back to the remnants of the house when it started to flare up. They quickly doused it.
Six towns were involved in fighting the original fire, battling the blaze, shuttling water from nearby hydrants and providing station coverage. Those towns were: New Gloucester, Gray, Pownal, Durham, North Yarmouth and Auburn.
More than 45 firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel took part. No one was injured.
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