OLD TOWN, Maine — A couple and two pets died in a fire on Southgate Road on Saturday that was caused by careless smoking and an oxygen tank, state police said.
Firefighters pulled Joseph Prekop, 67, and the family dog from the fire but could not resuscitate them. They discovered the body of Prekop’s 68-year-old wife, Adrienne Raff-Prekop, in the living room of their one-story home, Old Town Fire Chief Steve O’Malley said.
“As soon as we got him out of the building, CPR was started,” O’Malley said.
Firefighters and ambulance attendants from Orono and Old Town used resuscitation equipment tailored for animals on the dog. The body of a cat was found later, O’Malley said.
Prekop was among several 911 callers reporting the fire at about 11:30 a.m. but was overcome by smoke. The first two firefighters to arrive rescued him from a rear bedroom, and several others tried to resuscitate him in the yard after O’Malley detected what he thought was a faint pulse, O’Malley said.
Fire heavily damaged the living room of the home, and smoke and heat damage occurred throughout the rest of the house, O’Malley said.
Investigators determined that Raff-Prekop accidentally set the fire by smoking too close to the oxygen tank she was using, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Sgt. Ken Grimes of the state fire marshal’s office investigated the fire Saturday afternoon.
O’Malley said his ambulance service workers were familiar with the couple, having run more than 70 emergency medical calls to the home in the last two years.
Neighbors described the couple as ailing and somewhat reclusive and said they have lived at the house for a few years.