BURNHAM — The Office of Maine State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a home near Unity Pond early Thursday morning while the owner was in Massachusetts for a medical appointment.
The fire at 94 Rancourt Lane was reported at 12:47 a.m. Thursday, said Captain Kyle King of the Burnham Fire Department.
At the time of the fire, Burnham’s volunteer firefighters were providing mutual aid to a fire in nearby Pittsfield, but they were not seriously delayed in getting to the Burnham fire, he said.
Homeowner Donald Wright, the only resident of the house, was away for a medical appointment in Massachusetts, spending the night with a friend.
Wright has lived in the house year-round since 2003. He lost everything and does not have insurance, yet managed to be upbeat about the situation on Thursday.
When asked where he would be staying, Wright, who turns 82 in a few days, said, “I have women lined up to take me in.”
King said that when firefighters arrived at the scene early Thursday, there were flames showing on the outside of the house. Firefighters were at the scene until about 4:30 a..m. and returned at around 10 a.m. Thursday to spray more water on the rubble and make sure the fire was fully extinguished.
Sgt. Joel Davis of the fire marshal’s office said the blaze apparently started toward the front of the structure, but determining the cause will take more investigation.
Wright said he also didn’t know what may have started the fire.
There were no injuries reported. Firefighters from Clinton, Pittsfield, Troy and Unity also responded.
The fire in Pittsfield damaged a building outside of a silo at Hancock Lumber. That fire was reported around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. Although it damaged the building, it did not affect the business’ production on Thursday, said Pittsfield Fire Chief Bernard Williams.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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