A fire that destroyed a mobile home on Trafton Road in Oakland Saturday was arson, the Office of State Fire Marshal has determined.
“It’s considered an intentionally set fire,” Sgt. Ken Grimes of the Fire Marshal’s Office said Monday.
Firefighters from several towns fought the fire Saturday at 431 Trafton Road. The homeowners, Ted and Jean Brown, are away for the winter.
The fire was reported at 3:30 p.m. Firefighters battled the blaze in cold temperatures made more bitter by high wind.
Oakland Fire Chief David Coughlin said at the scene Saturday that it appeared the fire started outside the home and “it didn’t look right.”
Grimes on Monday said he could not reveal details about exactly where the fire was set or what was used to start it.
“We’re not going to get into the specifics of where and how,” Grimes said, adding that fire officials are still working on the case. “It’s a residence where the seasonal home owners were living out of state at the time.”
Coughlin called state fire investigators in to help determine the cause of the fire, and those investigators worked at the scene until about 9 p.m. Saturday, he said. Coughlin said over the weekend that the last time a member of the Brown family was at the mobile home was about a week ago.
About 35 firefighters from Oakland, Rome, Belgrade, Sidney and Fairfield worked at the scene, and Waterville firefighters brought a cascade truck containing air for firefighter air bottles.
The mobile home was insured, according to Coughlin. Firefighters were able to salvage some family items from the mobile home, including rifles, snowshoes and framed pictures.
Grimes asked those who may have seen or heard anything related to the fire to contact the state fire marshal’s office at 626-3870. After hours, they may call Maine State Police regional dispatch center at 624-7076, or if someone wants to leave an anonymous tip, he or she may call the arson hotline at 1-888-870-6162.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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