About 60 firefighters from 18 departments fought a fire Sunday at a house owned by Ted and Laura Lowell at 21 High St. in Livermore Falls. Two Livermore Falls firefighters were injured. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
LIVERMORE FALLS — Two firefighters were injured Sunday and a house was heavily damaged by fire at 21 High St., Assistant Fire Chief Ben Guild said.
Flames shoot from the roof of a home at 21 High St. in Livermore Falls Sunday. Lakin Ash photo
The owners of the house, Ted and Laura Lowell, were not home at the time of the fire.
About 60 firefighters from 18 fire departments responded to the residential area to help extinguish the blaze.
“We fought the fire for about 2½ hours before it was declared under control,” Guild said. “These types of fires are quite labor intensive.”
The cause of the Livermore Falls fire is believed to be electrical, but that would not be confirmed until state fire investigators are able to get to the site, Guild said. An investigator was expected on Monday but Guild was not sure when. Several investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal are assisting in the investigation of a fire that left three men dead in Bangor and two others injured.
A neighbor reported the Livermore Falls fire at about 3:04 p.m., Guild said.
The fire was located mostly in the attic of the two-story home. The house has balloon framing and the fire got into the walls and spread throughout the house, he said.
Two Livermore Falls firefighters received what Guild believed were minor injuries from “slips and trips” and were taken by a NorthStar EMS ambulance to a hospital.
The American Red Cross is assisting the couple, he said.
“A big thank you to all firemen at the scene and to the firemen who were injured; I hope they are fine,” Laura Lowell wrote in a message on Monday.
She thanked the community for all of their support and for the Red Cross for helping them out. The Lowells are staying at a hotel, she said. Initially a dog was located but a second one was unaccounted for. Lowell said her husband found the second dog Sunday night.
Departments responding to the scene to assist Livermore Falls included Jay, Livermore, Wayne, Fayette, Wilton, Chesterville, Farmington, Leeds, Turner, Farmington, Winthrop, Readfield, Dixfield, East Dixfield, Canton, Buckfield and Mexico.
Livermore Falls public works and police departments, and NorthStar EMS ambulance and Turner Rescue Services also responded.
The local fire department was hampered by mechanical issues, Guild said. One Livermore Falls fire truck wouldn’t start and the ladder truck had an electrical component issue with the ladder, he said. It was moved and put out of service to make room for Farmington Fire Rescue’s Tower 3 ladder truck.
Jay also brought its ladder truck to help put the fire out, Guild said.
“We have great mutual aid,” he said.
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