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Fire destroys a house and camper trailer Monday at 86 Fairfield St. in Oakland. (Contributed by Oakland Fire Department)

A fast-moving fire Monday afternoon destroyed a house and camper trailer at 86 Fairfield St. in Oakland, displacing four people, Oakland fire Chief David Coughlin said Tuesday.

The fire, reported just before 2 p.m., started in the garage under the living space of the split-level ranch house, and the Office of State Fire Marshal is helping to determine the cause, Coughlin said.

“Within five minutes of us arriving there, it had basically consumed the entire house,” he said.

The home is located about a half-mile from the fire station. The camper trailer was parked adjacent to the wood-frame house, which Coughlin estimated was built in the 1960s or early 1970s. Four people lived at the property, including owner Josh Michaud, who was home when the fire started, he said. They lost everything, including a vehicle in the garage, he said.

“There were a couple of cats unaccounted for, but I think they hoped they got outside,” he said. “I think at least one of the cats had been found.”

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The Red Cross was called to help those who were displaced, he said.

About 35 firefighters from Oakland, Belgrade, Sidney, Rome, Smithfield and Fairfield fire departments worked at the scene, he said. Delta Ambulance and the Oakland Police Department also responded.

Coughlin said that according to Michaud, the home was insured. Firefighters left the scene around 5 p.m., he said.

 

 

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...