WILTON — A family of five was displaced Sunday after a fire in the basement of their Magrath Road home filled the building with smoke, according to a Wilton Fire Department official.

The family returned from running errands to find the house full of smoke and reported the fire at 4:05 p.m., according to Wilton Fire Department Deputy Chief Tom Doak.

The doors and windows are open at this home at 219 Magrath Road in Wilton on Monday after it was damaged Sunday afternoon in a smokey fire that began in the basement. The home is not inhabitable and the family of five is staying elsewhere. Staff photo by David Leaming

The home is owned by Donna Nichols, who lives there with her four children, two daughters aged 17 and 12 and boys aged 15 and 9, Doak said.

The fire apparently started around the wood-burning furnace in the basement of the house, Doak said. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze in one room in the basement and put it out, he said.

According to Doak, the family had been having trouble with the wood furnace stove pipe and had it replaced while they were out of town for the night on Saturday.

When they returned Sunday, the family started a fire in the furnace and left to run some errands, returning to find smoke in the house, Doak said.

An investigator from the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal found the fire may have been caused by some ash from the furnace and was strictly accidental, Doak said. The replacement stovepipe appeared to be installed correctly, and there is no indication it was responsible for the fire, he added.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire, but members of the family have asthma, and the family is not staying at the house, Doak said, and they are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Firefighters from Wilton, East Dixfield, Jay, Farmington and Chesterville responded to the fire, Doak said.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @PeteL_McGuire

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