LAGRANGE, Maine — A fire believed to have been caused by a pellet stove heavily damaged a two-story home on Bennoch Road, a Fire Department member said Monday.
The fire at the home of Ron Veazie began about 7:30 a.m. Monday, LaGrange firefighter Jen Baker said.
The home is a former parsonage that had undergone several renovations and additions over the decades. The pellet stove was located in an addition connecting the house to the garage, Baker said.
“When we arrived … one of the back walls was pretty much fully engulfed,” Baker said. She said the homeowner believes that the fire began in the vicinity of a pellet stove.
“We we able to contain it with the help of a lot of mutual aid from area departments,” she said, noting that LaGrange fire crews were assisted by their counterparts from Milo, Bradford, Alton, Corinth, Charleston, Hudson and Brownville.
“We ran into a lot of problems with it getting between the eaves and the walls, so there were a lot of things that hindered it getting [extinguished],” she said.
“We were able to save a good portion of the house but unfortunately, with the smoke and water damage it was what we considered a total loss,” Baker said.
Everyone who was home at the time made it out of the house safely except for four cats that died in the fire, Baker said. Although the family was able to recover a few items, including photographs, most of their belongings were ruined.
Though no one suffered serious injury, a few firefighters suffered heat exhaustion while battling Monday’s blaze, Baker said. No one required a trip to the hospital, she said.
Baker said that the house is insured and that the family who lived there will be staying with family members. She said the Red Cross has been called to assist the family.