RICHMOND — A house and attached workshop at 246 Main St. in Richmond sustained significant fire damage Friday morning.

Kurt Johnson, the only resident at the home, said he was sleeping on the couch, taking a break from working on the home, when he awoke to find black smoke coming from the area of the wood stove flue in the kitchen. He said he then tried the door to his workshop, attached to the back of the home, and found the door to be engulfed in flames.

Additional Images

Firefighters from Richmond and other surrounding towns clean up after a house fire at 246 Main St. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Johnson, who said he is in the process of buying the house, said he tried to put out the fire but could not. He said the home is not insured.

“I grabbed some clothes and whatever else I could grab and got out,” he said at the scene, his face blackened with soot.

Fire Chief Matt Roberge said Johnson was checked by emergency medical responders at the scene but was not taken to the hospital.

Johnson said he was fine, other than being “bummed out about my house, especially with all the work I’ve been doing.”

He said he was refurbishing the home, including structural work underneath it and putting in insulation and Sheetrock on walls.

Roberge said the fire caused major damage to the workshop area of the home, minor damage to the kitchen, and smoke damage to the rest of the structure. He said the house will likely be livable once electricity is restored.

Sgt. Kenneth Grimes, of the fire marshal’s office, said a cause of the fire was not able to be determined on Friday, because of the substantial damage to the workshop area. He confirmed, however, the fire originated in the back workshop area, not the main part of the house.

Firefighters from Richmond, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Litchfield and Dresden responded to the fire, which was reported about 8:20 a.m. Richmond police also responded. By 9 a.m., the fire appeared to be extinguished but smoke continued to come out of the house.

Both lanes of Main Street were closed for about an hour, as firefighters connected hoses to a hydrant on the opposite side of the street. One lane reopened to traffic just before 9:30 a.m. Some firefighters were on the scene until about 11:30 a.m.

Town tax assessment records list the owner of the home as David Mork of Richmond. Records indicate the one-and-a-half-story home was built in 1870 and assessed at $68,300.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj

Related Stories