BOWDOINHAM, Maine — A home being renovated on Post Road burned early Thursday morning, drawing firefighters from six communities in an effort to save it.
At 4:47 a.m., the homeowner, who was renovating the house and staying in a camp behind it, awoke to discover heavy smoke coming from the building, Bowdoinham Fire Chief Arthur Frizzle said.
The man opened the door, saw flames coming from the front corner of the building and called for help.
Firefighters from Bowdoinham, Bowdoin, Dresden, Richmond, Topsham and Lisbon arrived to find the house fully involved but were able to control the blaze in about 20 minutes, Frizzle said. They remained on scene later in the morning doing significant overhaul, he said.
“It was an old building and had layers of siding, so the flames had time to get into the voids,” he said. Adding to the challenge, though, was that the renovations made the house “structurally tight,” and flames had time to burn through to the attic and crawl spaces before they were noticed, causing significant damage.
The structure is still standing but likely a total loss, Frizzle said.
No injuries were reported.
The state fire marshal was at the scene Thursday morning in order to determine the cause of the fire. Frizzle said the homeowner was renovating the area where he believes the fire started, pointing to a likely electrical source as the cause.