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Firefighters spray water through a window April 28 while attacking a house fire at 31 Waye St. in Skowhegan. A woman was found deceased inside the house. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

SKOWHEGAN — Officials have been unable to determine the exact cause of a fire last week that killed an 84-year-old woman.

Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss identified the woman Tuesday morning as Jane Towle. Property tax records show Towle owned the home at 31 Waye St.

The Office of State Fire Marshal determined the fire started in the garage, but cannot yet point to a specific cause due to the extent of damage, Moss said via email. There are several possible accidental causes that investigators cannot rule out, she said.

Towle’s cause of death also remains pending while the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, which conducted an autopsy, awaits toxicology testing results, Moss said.

A dog also died in the fire, said Wally Stetson, who owns the property next door and said he knew Towle. He said he buried the pit bull Labrador mix next to an apple tree behind the burned home.

Police tape hangs at a home at 31 Waye St. in Skowhegan a day after Jane Towle died in the April 28 fire. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

Crews arriving to the fire the evening of April 28 found the front of the house fully engulfed in flames, Chief Ryan Johnston of the Skowhegan Fire Department said at the scene.

Firefighters made a “valiant effort” to try to rescue Towle but could not reach her, Johnston said. They later found her dead.

No other injuries were reported, and the home was completely destroyed. The second-alarm fire drew response from several area towns.

Staff Photographer Rich Abrahamson contributed to this report.

Jake covers Skowhegan and Somerset County for the Morning Sentinel. He started reporting at the Morning Sentinel in November 2023. Jake grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Tufts University. While...

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