BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine — The Christmas night fire that destroyed a Boothbay Harbor home has been ruled accidental.
Sgt. Ken Grimes of the state fire marshal’s office said it started near the refrigerator and outlets. He said there may have been an electrical malfunction or power surges, due to an outage late in the afternoon.
“A lot of times when the power goes out, people are using appliances, or things are going on inside the home,” said Grimes. “(They) forget about it. The power comes back on hours later, and if an item was on or left on, something like that can be an issue.”
The home is a total loss. Firefighters were only able to salvage some clothes from a back room.
Fire Chief Nick Upham said the house belongs to a lobsterman, his wife and son, who are part of a well-known family in the community.
Neighbors said 57 Lakeside Road, owned by Matthew and Kate Rice, was engulfed in flames.
Upham said one of the homeowners reported the fire at 8:30 p.m.
“As soon as I got here, I knew it was pretty bad,” he said.
Upham said about 40 firefighters from five towns worked to put it out. They came back at 4:30 a.m. when it reignited.
No one was hurt, but the family’s cat and two dogs didn’t survive.
“Its tragic,” said neighbor Maggie Conley. “It’s bad enough to lose your house. Thank God they weren’t in there. But their pets?”
“It was extremely tough for (the homeowners),” said Upham. “Very tough for them.”
Upham said the Rice family has found a place to stay and he fully expects the community will step up to help them move forward.