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VASSALBORO — Two dogs were rescued from a fire Tuesday afternoon that damaged a two-unit home on North Belfast Road.

Vassalboro fire Chief Walker Thompson said from the scene that the dogs were saved from one unit, and the other unit was unoccupied. The Office of State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause.

“We got here and found heavy fire and smoke contained in the kitchen area,” Thompson said after 5 p.m. “We’re still here, waiting on the fire marshal to help determine the cause. It is definitely uninhabitable. It’s going to need some pretty serious work. I wouldn’t say it’s destroyed, but there’s fire and smoke damage throughout.”

The fire was reported at 1657 North Belfast Road, also known as Route 3, by a passerby, who called it in at 2:25 p.m., Thompson said. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy fire coming from the roof of the building, located at the corner of Legion Park Road, about a mile from the Augusta city line, Thompson said.

“Thankfully, we had people around that were able to get here quick and the first, initial crews, were able to knock the fire down pretty quickly,” he said.

Between 20 and 30 firefighters from Vassalboro, China, Augusta, Chelsea and Waterville responded to the scene, he said. Delta Ambulance was there, and Central Maine Power Co. turned off power to the home, he said.

“Nobody was injured,” Thompson said.

He said firefighters aren’t sure if anyone was home when the fire started. State fire investigators will be working on those details, as well as whether the property is insured.

Amy Calder covers Waterville, including city government, for the Morning Sentinel and writes a column, “Reporting Aside,” which appears Sundays in both the Sentinel and Kennebec Journal. She has worked...