CLINTON, Maine — An unattended candle sparked a fire fueled by heavy wind, destroying a house on Hinckley Road Friday night and leaving a family of five homeless.
Firefighters were called at 9:55 p.m. to 952 Hinckley Road, where they saw flames raging through the bathroom windows, Clinton Fire Chief Gary Petley said. The fire quickly spread through the rest of the house, due in part to high winds coming across an adjacent field.
Petley said firefighters were also hindered by the many additions to the home, as well as a metal roof that “kept everything inside. It just kind of incinerated itself.”
The blaze was under control in about two hours, he said, but added, “The house is pretty much a total loss.”
The homeowners were home at the time, although their three children, ages 10, 17 and 19, were not. No injuries were reported.
“From what we’ve been able to determine, the fire started in the bathroom area, basically from an unattended candle that started the cloth shower curtain on fire and spread from there,” Petley said. “They tried to extinguish it and it got out of control, so they gathered their dogs and themselves and exited the building, and then called us.”
The American Red Cross was at the scene to find accommodations for the family. Petley said the house was insured.
Firefighters from Clinton, Burnham, Canaan, Fairfield and Winslow cleared the scene at about 1:30 a.m.