WISCASSET, Maine — The residents of 14 Cronk’s Lane in Wiscasset are currently without a home following a Saturday structure fire. The Wiscasset Fire Department was paged to the address at approximately 10:20 a.m.
According to Wiscasset Assistant Fire Chief Nick Merry, the homeowner, the only person in the building, was in the bedroom of the single-family trailer when the fire broke out. The owner did not see how or where the blaze originated.
The homeowner safely evacuated the house and there were no injuries, Wiscasset Fire Chief T.J. Merry said. As of this posting, officials could only identify the homeowners as Mike and Tammy. It is unclear if the home was insured.
The Dresden, Edgecomb, Westport Island, Alna and Woolwich fire departments responded to the blaze, in addition to the Wiscasset Ambulance Service. “Mutual aid was great,” T.J. Merry said.
Flames were coming out of the front door and a side window when fire crews first arrived on scene, Assistant Chief Merry said. Due to the risk of injury to firefighters and the fact that no lives were endangered inside the structure, a defensive attack strategy, or attacking the fire from the outside as opposed to entering the building, was used, Nick Merry said.
The fire was knocked down in approximately 10 minutes and fully extinguished in approximately 30 minutes, T.J. Merry said. “The initial teams did a great job,” he said. The scene was cleared shortly before noon.
Officials believe the fire originated near the kitchen and was accidental. The state fire marshal’s office was scheduled to be on scene Monday to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
The American Red Cross also responded to the fire and will provide emergency shelter and other forms of relief to the homeowners.
Some personal belongings inside the structure may be salvageable, but the structure is unlivable, officials said. “It’s a complete loss,” Nick Merry said.