Fire destroyed an unoccupied Winthrop home early Saturday morning.

Firefighters, working in single-digit temperatures, were on the scene on Narrows Pond Road for more than seven hours, four of which they were actively fighting the fire, according to Fire Chief Dan Brooks.

The home is owned by Harrison and Constance Bates, according to town assessing records. The owners of the home, Brooks said, weren’t currently living at the home, they were living in a different home nearby, so the 358 Narrows Pond Road was unoccupied.

The fire was reported around 1:40 a.m., by the daughter of the homeowner, who is a neighbor to the property.

“It’s a complete loss, it was fully involved when we arrived,” Brooks said of the ranch-style home which sits on top of a hill. “Upon our arrival there was already some partial collapse of the floors. We were actively fighting it a good four hours.”

Brooks said the home is insured.

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He said the cause of the fire is under investigation but it appears to have started in an attached garage, and spread to the home. A Winthrop Police officer investigated at the scene and an investigator from the state Fire Marshal’s Office is expected to check out the fire scene Monday to try to determine a cause.

Two horses in a nearby barn on the property were unharmed.

No firefighters were injured while fighting the fire.

The cold conditions were hard on firefighters but no hose lines or trucks fighting the fire froze up due to the cold conditions, Brooks said.

Water was shuttled by truck to the fire from a hydrant by the causeway on Narrows Pond Road and a hydrant near the intersection of U.S. Route 202 and South Road.

Assisting Winthrop firefighters were firefighters from Monmouth and the Lakes Region Mutual Aid towns of Readfield, Manchester, Wayne, Vienna, Mount Vernon and Fayette, as well as Winthrop ambulance, police and public works.

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Town assessing records indicate the home and 33 acre property it sits on is assessed at $171,500, and the home was built in 1968

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj


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