WEST BATH, Maine — The American Red Cross is finding housing for a family of five whose home was gutted by fire early Tuesday morning.
The blaze gutted a single-story home on 26 Mountain Road, but the family of Emily and Don Trimbley and their two pets were unharmed, according to West Bath Fire Chief Greg Payson.
Firefighters responded at about 2 a.m. Tuesday for a fire that reportedly started in a dishwasher. When crews arrived, they found heavy smoke and “a pretty good fire coming from the kitchen,” Payson said.
Although the construction of the house made the fire “stubborn,” crews knocked it down in about 20 minutes, with the assistance of Phippsburg, Brunswick, Woolwich and Bath firefighters.
No injuries were reported, Payson said, and a dog and cat escaped without injury. Payson said a working smoke detector awoke the residents, who were outside the home when firefighters arrived.
Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office were en route to the scene Tuesday morning, but Payson said it appears to have been an electrical fire.
The home, which is insured, will need to be rebuilt, but the structure is still standing. Payson estimated damage at about $100,000.