A suspected electrical fire left a Canaan woman homeless Saturday afternoon after ripping through her mobile home on Browns Corner Road and destroying most of her possessions.

Laura Dudley, 28, said the fire broke out around 2 p.m. and moved so quickly she barely managed to get her two dogs out before the home went up in flames. She still doesn’t know if her one-year-old cat, Aurora, made it out.

The remains of a mobile home and its contents litter the home site on the Browns Corner Road in Canaan on Sunday. The home was destroyed by fire on Saturday afternoon. Owner Laura Dudley escaped the home and a cat was report missing. Staff photo by David Leaming

“There was smoke rolling through the hallways,” Dudley said. “Things were snapping and shooting out the windows as I was coming out.”

Dudley said she first noticed smoke after running an external heater for the home. She turned the heater off, but within moments the house was so full of smoke she could barely see her animals sitting on the couch inside. She believes the external heater shorted a hot water heater, triggering the blaze.

Dudley had moved from Waterville in November saying she wanted to be closer to family. Most of her possessions, including garden and lawn equipment she uses in her property preservation business, were “replaceable,” she said, but her cat and a hat that belonged to her grandfather were tough losses. She did not have insurance to help cover the costs.

Dudley said she is still processing the loss but expressed gratitude for the support she’s received. She said by Sunday afternoon, donations were already rolling in.

“It’s overwhelming,” she said. “The community is so strong for when you least expect it.”

Kate McCormick — 861-9218

kmccormick@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @KateRMcCormick

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