OAKLAND — A fire Thursday morning at an Oak Street home is considered to be of suspicious origin, according to a fire official.
The fire was reported about 8:50 a.m. at 363 Oak St. The single-story ranch-style home was unoccupied and scheduled to be on the auction block on Feb. 12.
According to Oakland Fire Chief Dave Coughlin, the fire appears to have started in the home’s basement. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly, but there appeared to be heavy smoke and heat damage inside the home, he said.
No one was at the home when firefighters arrived at the scene, he said.
Investigators from the Office of the State Fire Marshal were expected to look into the fire’s cause Thursday afternoon.
“The fire is suspicious at this point,” Coughlin said.
About a half-hour after the initial call, firefighters were pulling siding off the house and searching for hot spots inside. A sign on a street outside the home advertised an auction of the property by Keenan Auction House in South Portland.
Firefighters from Fairfield, Belgrade and Smithfield, as well as Oakland firefighters, responded to the blaze.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
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